Chasing the Ocean
by GayrasuNoHomozono
Summary: Maki, a young gypsy girl, has no idea what she's in for when she hops aboard Poseidon's Dishonor. Whether it's feeding her rather standoffish captain, dealing with an increasingly jealous crew mate, or running into lesbian party ships, Maki certainly has an adventure ahead of her. Rated M for occasional violence and implied sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up," A panicked whisper filled the area. "We're gonna get caught!"

"If you stopped shouting in my ear, I'd be done already." A low, gruff voice replied. The blue-haired girl in question continued fiddling with the makeshift lock pick, until she heard the familiar click come from the rusted padlock. "Alright, Rin, start grabbing anything you can!" She dropped the now cracked lock to the ground, which landed with a resounding _clank!_

Unbeknownst to the crew of 4, they were being watched. The onlooker was a red-haired gypsy who curiously stared from behind an old wooden barrel. She'd been planning on robbing this place herself, but it didn't hurt to have a few unexpected helpers.

"Sweet, nya!" The orange-haired girl apparently named Rin triumphantly showcased the first box. "They've got ramen in here!"

"That's good and all, but make sure you're getting the necessary food too." The one who appeared to be the leader called to the shorter one.

"Um, excuse me, Umi-chan, but ramen _is_ necessary nya!"

The blue-haired girl narrowed her eyes at Rin's insolence. "That's Captain Umi to you, Rin." The shy, nervous girl from before whispered expressively to Rin, most likely warning her not to disrespect the captain again.

"She's right, Rin-chan." A gray-haired girl who hadn't spoken up much before now spoke to Rin as well, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You wouldn't want Captain Umi to leave you stranded here now, would you?"

When the reality of her fate flashed before her eyes, Rin gulped and bowed before Umi. "I'll be good, C-Captain Umi nya!" Umi flashed a grin in response, finishing with a curt nod.

"G-guys, they're coming!" The light brown-haired one frantically pointed at the food storage area's designated guards, who were very quickly shuffling towards the crew.

"Dammit, there's no time!" Umi stacked three boxes of assorted goods on top of one another, hurrying to bring them to her docked ship. Rin quickly got ahead of her, carrying another three, while the last two settled for one box each and trailed behind slightly.

Maki was tempted to dash in to get whatever she could but the guards took sight of her and ran towards her direction. 'Shit, this is gonna hurt.' She hurled herself onto Umi's boat, praying that she would not be caught. Much to her dismay, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She gulped and looked up to stare Umi in the face. She had a dangerously evil face right now, and she could feel her grip tighten. "Girls, come look at what we caught." The other three curiously gathered around to see what Umi was referring to.

"Oooo, another girl, nya?" Rin went to move closer, but she was pulled back by Umi.

"I'll deal with _you_ later," Umi grabbed Maki by the collar of her shirt, practically tossing her in Kotori's direction. The gypsy went crashing before the gray-haired girl's feet. "Kotori, strip her of her clothing and give her a uniform." The blue-haired girl readjusted her hat, then hobbled away on her thin, wooden leg.

Maki nervously gulped, realizing how dehydrated she had become when it hurt to swallow. Umi took notice of this, gesturing to a line of oak-barrels. "Give her some water first."

Kotori nodded, dragging Maki toward the first of the barrels. "Alright, drink up~." Without a pause for Maki to respond, Kotori unceremoniously dunked her head into the lukewarm water. The violet-eyed girl immediately pulled herself back out, coughing and sputtering as water flowed down her face. "That doesn't look like drinking to me." She happily giggled, shoving Maki back under the murky water. This time the redhead was somewhat prepared, taking a bit of the water to drink. It tasted off, almost like it was partially mud, and it felt like it'd been heated under the sun all day.

The barrel nearly tipped over as Maki freed herself from Kotori's grip, crashing against the floorboards of the deck. "I-it tastes warm.. And dirty." Maki's face scrunched up as she attempted to wipe away the remaining liquid.

"Tough shit," Umi gruffly replied, signaling to Kotori. "She's had enough, you can take her away."

Kotori began dragging Maki away by her hair, despite the girl's loud protests. "If you keep screaming like that, Kotori's going to have to punish you~." The amber-eyed girl's voice sounded sweet as honey, but it didn't match her demeanor at all. Maki quickly clamped her mouth shut to prevent any more noise from escaping, scared of what this 'Kotori" person was capable of. "That's much better~."

Once they'd reached the stairs leading inside the ship, Kotori roughly shoved Maki down them, who was lucky not to tumble to her death. She let out a groan, rubbing the back of her head from the hard contact with the floor she'd just had. She had no time to recover before Kotori was yanking her up again, forcing her to sit down in a nearby chair. "I'm not taking my clothes off."

Kotori pouted at Maki's indignance. "But Kotori needs to give you a uniform, so please lift your arms up for me?" She batted her eyelashes in an attempt to charm Maki.

Maki felt heat rise to her cheeks, and unwittingly lifted her arms so that Kotori could more easily remove her silk shirt, then followed by the crimson head scarf that at this point had fallen to her shoulders. The next to go were her many bracelets, her long flowing skirt, and the last remainder of her clothes. "Hey, those are mine!" Maki used one arm to somewhat cover herself, while the other reached out for her gold and silver jewelry.

"The Captain would want me to confiscate these, all treasure is to be brought to her." Kotori leaned down to peck Maki on the cheek. "Thank you for cooperating~." She pointed to a coat rack that held up a single outfit. "Your uniform's over there; get dressed, and Captain Umi will be down to greet you shortly." The clothing designer bowed before taking her leave, hugging the smooth fabrics she'd retrieved to herself.

Once Maki heard the door creak shut, she sprinted across the room so she could get into her uniform. It was a bit too loose for her, and had quite a few tears, making it apparent that it was a hand me down. She tried to make up for how low it hung in regards to her chest, but there wasn't much she could do aside from tie her new ascot over it.

The young gypsy was dragged from her thoughts when she heard the door slam open again, the booming sound soon followed by the repetitive clack of Captain Umi's artificial leg hitting the stairs on her way down.

Maki straightened her posture at the sight of her, nervously picking at a loose thread.

"Hmm," Umi poked the side of Maki's stomach with her walking stick. "Seems a bit large on you; I'll have Kotori tailor it to fit you." Though Umi was just a bit shorter than her, Maki was nonetheless intimidated by the way she eyed her.

"S-so," Maki placed her hands behind her back. "When do I get to leave?"

Umi remained stoic at first, before suddenly bursting into laughter. She used her cane as support while her other hand went to clutch her side as she shook.

Maki grew more and more irritated as Umi persisted, offering no explanation. "What's so funny?"

Umi slowly came back down to earth, wiping a stray tear and clearing her throat. "Oh, you were serious." She made her way over to the chair that Maki had previously been sitting on, plopping herself down and sighing in relief. "When you come aboard my ship, you don't just _leave_ my ship." Umi bent down to rub the ankle that still existed.

"Wait… what?" Maki furiously stomped over to Umi. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Umi narrowed her eyes, picking her fallen stick back up. "You should shut your mouth while you can; I've beaten people with this before, and I'm not opposed to using it on you either. Do you want a test drive of it?!" She angrily slammed the carved driftwood into the ground, causing both the stick and the floor to splinter a bit. "Maybe that's what I need to do to straighten your act."

Maki stepped back in fear, wincing at the sound of the contact. "N-no, please…"

Umi grunted, using her cane to push herself back up into a standing position. "Obey my orders and you'll be fine. Now I have the others to deal with, so you just get some rest. Your real duties begin tomorrow."

"Um," Maki looked from side to side, searching for a bed. "Where, exactly?"

She pointed at a corner of the room, where a small pile of empty potato sacks was laid. "There. Now go sleep; I can't have a tired crew. It makes you work less hard." Umi turned her back to Maki, and began making her way back to the rest of her crew. "By the way, the name's Umi, Sonoda Umi. I'm the captain of this ship, so I expect you to treat me with respect." She flashed a confident grin in the younger girl's direction, "And welcome to Poseidon's Dishonor."

Maki found herself left with more questions than answers as the clambering sound of Umi's leg disappeared. She sighed in defeat, making her way over to the makeshift bed she'd been given. "I can get through this," She whispered to herself. "I've slept on less when I had to live in the streets." She curled up on top of a few of the burlap bags, while using the remaining ones for blankets.

"Psssssst," A familiar voice called down to her from above. "That doesn't look very comfy, do you want to sleep with Kotori and her partners~?" Kotori let out a giggle, "It's warm, and you can be in the middle if you want~."

Maki threw off the bags, dashing over to the staircase. "Y-yeah, I can sleep with you instead." Kotori beamed in response, quietly leading her to the center of the ship.

"You've gotta be quiet though, I didn't tell Captain Umi about this." She held a finger to her lips as she began tip toeing past the helm, where Umi was silently steering. Maki followed suit, being careful not to make even a peep. Once they were safely past the steering area, Kotori grabbed Maki by the hand and led her to the hammock inside the small, sheltered room.

"Ah, Kotori-chan!" Maki recognized the shy girl from before when she popped out from beneath her blanket. "Y-you brought the new girl?"

Kotori giddily nodded. "I sure did, Hanayo-chan. She'll be keeping us company tonight." Kotori left Maki behind to lay next to Hanayo. "Well don't be shy, come join us~." She patted the spot between them both, coaxing Maki with her gentle voice.

"O-okay," Maki gingerly slipped between the two of them, allowing herself to be surrounded.

"G'night, you two~." Kotori snuggled up next to Maki, who could feel her cheeks growing warm again.

"G-good night," Maki somehow managed to choke out in response, which was returned by an equally shy good night from the girl on her right side, who slowly wrapped herself around Maki's arm. _"I didn't imagine that I'd end my night sandwiched between two girls. …nor did I imagine that I'd be a part of a pirate crew."_ She shut her eyes in an attempt to block out the thoughts that invaded her brain. _"I should try to sleep now, Captain Umi said that I was going to need it."_ The red-haired girl fell into a half-sleep, when a final thought occurred to her. _"Didn't Kotori say "partner(s)"? Where is the second one?"_

Maki wished that she hadn't asked that question, when she was jostled fully awake by a body slamming directly on top of her. Any breath that she'd held was squeezed out of her in a drawn, wheezing gasp. "What the fuck was that for?!" She whispered in frustration to the intruder.

"Nya, you're one to talk; what are you doing in _my_ spot of the hammock?!" Maki recognized the voice as belonging to the orange-haired girl named Rin. "Go back to the potato sacks, you- you hammock stealing rat, nya!"

"Rin-chaaaan," Kotori sleepily called from the side. "I told her she could sleep with us, please be nice to her." The gray haired girl sleepily rubbed her eye, before turning away again.

"Ohhh fine, nya…" Rin huffed as she collapsed onto Maki's chest, which was still sore from the small girl's previous assault. "But just for tonight! And I'm warning you, rat-girl, I toss and turn in my sleep a lot nya!"

Maki groaned in pain, finding it hard to breathe beneath Rin's weight. "N-noted…" The girl attempted to sleep and ignore Rin's constant shifting against her, but not much rest was granted to her that night. _"Well tomorrow's just gonna be wonderful, isn't it?"_ Maki tightly shut her eyes, hoping to grasp at even a hint of rest before her first day as an official crew member, and managed to fall asleep among the three girls.


	2. Chapter 2

Maki had barely been asleep for 20 minutes when a loud, high-pitched sound assaulted her ears. Her sore, bloodshot eyes shot open and searched the room for any intruders. She could see nothing in the pitch black, aside from the spot of faint light shining in through the door's porthole. Stumbling out of the hammock, Maki blindly made her way through the dark room and threw open the door to the outside.

She was greeted by a partly cloudy sky, and the sight of her bunk mate being whacked with a stick. "Wait, what?!" Maki muttered to herself as she ran over to the scene.

"Did you _really_ think I didn't notice you sneaking that girl into your room last night? You fucking bird-brained imbecile!" Captain Umi brought her cane down against Kotori's bare back, creating more wide gashes.

"What are you doing?!" Maki shouted and tried to intervene. However, she was quickly held back by Rin & Hanayo.

"It's not smart to get in between Captain Umi and a punishment, nya." The small girl whispered to Maki.

Hanayo swallowed hard as she nodded in agreement. "She'll beat you twice as hard, so it's better to just stay back and let her get it over with…"

"But why is she beating Kotori?!"

"Well, Ms. Nosy," Umi retracted her walking stick and used it to point at Maki. "You're at fault for this, and you're lucky it's only your first day, or I'd be beating the shit out of you too." She dug her peg leg into Kotori's already bleeding back. "Now, are you going to be sneaking any more girls into your room without my permission?"

Kotori stammered a response as she lowered herself to the ground. "N-no, C-Captain Umi..."

Umi placed her leg back on the ground, relieving Kotori of the pressure. "Good, I'll have Hanayo bandage you up after this." "This", Maki soon discovered, referred to a sort of welcome "ceremony" for her. If ceremonies involved being enlisted with a long list of chores to immediately get started on.

Kotori held a cloth to cover her chest, and took her place next to Hanayo and Rin. "You," Umi rested her arms against her walking aid. "What's your name?"

"Maki Nishiki-"

"No, actually, I changed my mind. I don't need your name. From now on your name is 'Tomato Bitch'." Umi brought a hand to her chin as she thought over her decision. "Yes, yes that works."

Maki gaped offendedly at the nickname she'd been assigned. "Excuse me?! Why can't you just call me Maki?! You know, my actual _name_?"

Umi cut off any further protest with a sharp _thwack!_ of her cane against the mast. "It's part of being a new recruit on Poseidon's Dishonor. Your name is Tomato Bitch, because your hair reminds me of tomatoes, and frankly, I think you're a bitch." She gestured to Rin. "Just ask your fellow crew mate. Rin, what was your name when you were new to the ship?"

Rin bashfully stuttered a response. "P-pussy…"

Captain Umi smirked triumphantly. "And just before you, we had Hanayo, the 'Four-eyed Glutton'." Hanayo whimpered at the memory of her former nickname. Umi finished her statement with a jab to Kotori's ribs. "And here we have my airhead of a first mate, Birdbrain." With a flourish, Umi turned her attention back to Maki. "Finally, we have you, Tomato Bitch. As of today, you are an official member of the Ocean Shadows, the crew I am proud to call my own."

Rin and Hanayo began applauding and welcoming Maki, Kotori soon following after holding the fabric in place with her elbows.

"Um… what exactly do I do?" Maki questioningly raised an eyebrow.

"Glad you asked," Umi stepped off to the side to gather some supplies she'd brought out for the occasion. "Hanayo, you've been promoted to third mate." Rin cheered loudly at the new announcement, jumping up and down and tackling the young girl.

"Nya, you get to be a mate with me and Kotori-chan now!"

Maki watched the display from aside in further confusion. "So then what does that leave me to be?"

"I was just getting to that." Without any other distractions, Umi brought over one of the barrels from the line Maki had drunk from along with a wiry mop. "You're our new swabbie. I expect these decks to be clean enough to eat off of by 13 o'clock."

Upon seeing the familiar oak barrel, to Maki's horror, she realized that she'd been drinking filthy mop water the previous night. "Is- Is that the barrel I was drinking out of?!"

Captain Umi deadpanned. "You wanna take another sip and find out? Quit bitching and get to work; a lot of dirt washed aboard while your lazy ass was sleeping." Maki reluctantly accepted the mop from her superior, and began dragging the heavy barrel across the deck as she cleaned away any dirt or sand she found.

By midday, Maki was absolutely exhausted. She collapsed beside her abused mop, nearly knocking over the half empty barrel along with her. In spite of the light drizzle of sea water splashing onto her occasionally, she felt that she could just fall asleep on the spot.

That is, until she felt a semi-thick piece of wood pressing against her exposed abs. "Sleeping on the job? What a pitiful swabbie you are." Once she heard the familiar booming voice, she knew that the piece of wood had to be none other than Captain Umi's infamous beating stick. "Oh well, I'll give you a break since it appears you've done as I asked. It's around 14 o'clock by now, so I've had Hanayo prepare us some lunch. Meet me in the mess hall below deck." Umi bowed, hobbling back to a larger hatch that likely led to the dining area.

Maki stretched as she stood up, placing the mop back into the barrel before following the path Umi had taken. She lifted the hatch door, and climbed down the small ladder that began right beneath it. The scent of boiling seafood reached her nose, along with what smelled like freshly baked bread.

"Ah, Maki-chan made it down for lunch nyaOW!" Rin rubbed her hand, which had been smacked by an irritated Umi.

"She's not Maki right now, she's Tomato Bitch. Or would you like to go back to 'Pussy'?" Rin shook her head furiously, looking back to Maki.

"I-I mean, Tomato Bitch, you came in time to eat what Kayo-chin made…" Rin did her best to assert her dominance over the rookie, which pleased Umi.

"What's there to eat?" Maki chose to ignore the use of her new nickname, curiously questioning the group as she shut the door. She jogged over to the group, where Kotori and Rin were sitting at a low table. Captain Umi stood authoritatively over them, and Hanayo watchfully guarded a fire pit surrounded by sand and steel bars.

"Nothing for you; you'll get whatever leftovers we have." Umi took her place at the head of the table, leaving Maki to despair over most likely not getting a meal. "Hanayo, is that crab any closer to being done?"

"It just finished, actually!" Hanayo beamed as she used her tongs to pull 5 large crabs out of the boiling pot, and placed them onto a serving platter. She hummed a soft tune as she carried it over to the center of the table. "One for Rin-chan," The orange-haired girl clapped in anticipation of the tasty meat, which Hanayo gladly put onto her awaiting plate.

Maki sadly watched from the side as everybody but her was served a juicy crab, but felt a spark of hope when there was the fifth crab still remaining. "I-is that?-"

"That would be my second crab." Umi spoke up, grabbing it off the tray with her fingers and placing it atop the first crab that Hanayo had given her.

Maki felt her heart sank once more, suddenly wishing she'd just hauled ass into the ocean rather than hopping onto the nightmare that was Poseidon's Dishonor.

"Tomato Bitch," Umi snapped her fingers impatiently. "Come feed me, I'm not feeling like lifting the crab legs." Maki gritted her teeth, refraining from saying anything that could earn her a punishment. She begrudgingly took her place next to her captain, who readily tucked a cloth into the collar of her shirt. "Save the front legs for last, they have the most meat in them."

Maki dutifully nodded, plucking one of the middle legs from its joint. While she did so, Hanayo brought over a bowl of lemon-butter for Maki to dip the meat into. She also left a slice of the bread she'd finished baking over the hot fire.

Umi thanked Hanayo, who curtsied before taking her seat opposite to Rin and Kotori. Maki once more received the signal to begin giving Umi the crab, so she snapped the leg in two and pulled out a bit of the stringy meat. She then drenched it in the melted, lemon-enhanced butter before carefully bringing it up to Umi's open mouth. Umi bit the crab meat, contently moaning at its sweet yet tangy taste. A bit of the butter dripped down her chin, but Maki was quick to grab a napkin and wipe it away.

The butter that was leftover on Umi's lips was quickly lapped up by said girl; she even went as far as to lightly lick away the butter that stained Maki's fingers. "Hanayo, you've done an amazing job on this crab." Umi praised as she nodded for Maki to feed her some more.

"Th-thank you, the fresh lemons helped…" Hanayo rubbed the back of her neck modestly.

The conversation fell into an awkward silence; Maki found it hard to be at ease when her fellow crew mates kept tossing nervous glances in her direction. "Is something going on?" She softly frowned.

Rin vigorously waved her hand to dismiss her. "N-nothing nya! I-I'm just looking next to you nya…" The girl poorly lied.

Maki was still confused on the matter, but Umi had soon finished her lunch. "Tomato Bitch, you can finish this for me. When you're done, bring the dessert to my cabin."

Hanayo, Kotori, and Rin avoided eye contact with Maki as they began to clear the table. Said girl sat down and began savoring her first meal since she'd gotten there, but couldn't help but continue to wonder what had gotten them so anxious. "So, seriously, what's got you guys acting so strange?"

Hanayo cleared her throat apologetically. "Um, dessert for Captain Umi… usually doesn't go very well."

Maki paused between bites of crab meat. "How so, exactly?" There wasn't much that could go wrong with a dessert, right?

Kotori proved her thoughts wrong by lifting her skirt up to above her knee and displaying the small scar across her knee. "If you get Captain Umi messy with her dessert, there's all sorts of punishments she can dole out on you…" She rubbed the slightly darkened area carefully, though it hadn't hurt in eons. "I dropped coffee in her lap…"

Rin helped Hanayo carry the dishes away so she wouldn't have to speak about her own injuries.

"Well, it's kinda simple to avoid it. I just won't be clumsy." Maki was fairly confident that she could feed Umi whatever it was she was having for dessert without getting any on her. "What is her dessert, exactly?" Maki finished licking the rest of the scraps away, trying to pick at what was left behind on the shell.

"Um, here." Hanayo uttered another "Sorry," under her breath as she placed a small, porcelain plate before Maki. A petite pudding cake was set in the center, surrounded by a circle of sweet blackberry sauce.

Maki shrugged her shoulders. "That doesn't seem so bad." If all she had to do was keep from getting Umi messy, she was safe.

"Good luck, then." Kotori kissed Maki on the cheek for luck, which led Rin to pout and stomp out after her without saying anything to Maki.

"Please forgive Rin-chan, she's a bit possessive of Kotori-chan and me." Hanayo pat Maki's shoulder before leaving as well.

Maki swore she heard an extra set of footsteps walk off behind Hanayo, but she shook away the thought. She opted instead to grab a silver fork along with the small treat, and began carrying them to the ladder. She placed the fork between her teeth and balanced the plate in her hand, using her other free one to hold onto the ladder , Hanayo had left the hatch open for Maki to easily exit the dining room. The red-haired girl set the cake to the side while she locked the door beneath her.

Maki then made her way over to the captain's cabin, quietly creaking the door open. Umi's room was rather simple, she noted. There weren't many decorations, though there were a few paintings hung up on the walls, along with what appeared to be old sheepskin maps. A sword was held up on its stand, leaving Maki to wonder if Umi had ever needed to use it.

Captain Umi impatiently drummed her fingers against the cedar desk that sat toward the back of the room. "What took you so long, there couldn't have been that much to eat. I'll bet you let my dessert get cold, didn't you?" Maki felt her eye twitch at the harsh critiques of her captain. "Actually, it's plenty warm." She said as she dipped her finger in the top layer of vanilla pudding. "Did I say you could touch my food with your filthy hands?! Whatever, just fucking feed me you degenerate."

Maki let out a sigh, taking her designated spot beside Umi. "Oh no, I didn't say you could stand next to me. Sit in my lap and feed me." Umi moved her chair back a bit to offer Maki some room."Wh-what?!" Maki intensely blushed at the order Umi had given her.

Umi merely rolled her eyes in response. "Do I sound like I'm speaking Chinese? Sit on my lap and start giving me that cake before it gets any colder, Tomato Bitch." In spite of the clear directions being given, Maki stood firm in her place. Captain Umi grew impatient, grumbling and forcing Maki onto her lap. "Now feed me, it's going to be dinner by the time you even start!"

Maki felt a lump rising in her throat; was this why the others had seemed so worried? She tried to cram it back down as she shakily plunged the into the soft pudding cake. Umi parted her lips in expectation, allowing Maki to just as nervously bring the bite-sized piece to her muffled sound of Umi's chewing calmed her nerves a bit; it meant she'd managed to get through the first bite without royally fucking up. "Get me some more of the blackberries this time, I barely tasted any." This was where it was going to get complicated. As Maki scooped some of the sauce on top of the pudding cake, she realized how prone to dripping it really was. If any were to drip onto anywhere but Umi's open mouth, Maki was unsure what the punishment awaiting her would be.

Swallowing the lump that seemed to be ever growing, Maki successfully got the cake into Umi's mouth without issue. She mentally cheered, but the struggle wasn't over yet. It seemed Umi was no longer satisfied with her position. "Stay on my lap, but face me instead." The shorter girl twisted Maki so that her legs were on either side of her hips, and left her hands to rest on Maki's waist.

"That cake's not getting any fresher, so you can keep going."Maki's heartbeat was accelerating at this point; she tried to keep a clear head, but her captain was intent on making that impossible. Then, as she attempted to shovel another piece into Umi's mouth, she made her first mistake as an official Ocean Shadow. At the time she'd been trying to scoop up more pudding, Umi decided it was the perfect time to cross her legs beneath Maki. But this in turn made the girl lose her balance and sent the cake toppling down over Umi's crisp uniform.

Maki gaped as she watched the sauce that would certainly remain as a stain forever ooze into the otherwise clean fabric. "Oh god, I'm so dead now." She felt the panic initiate when Umi grit her teeth and exhale loudly.

"My mistake I suppose. You'll redeem yourself if you go wash this with Kotori." Umi lightly shoved Maki off of her. "I won't take away your dinner privileges this time, but I won't be so easy on you if another mishap comes up."

Maki was too shocked to utter a word, so she dumbly nodded and quickly left the cabin. "That at least... wasn't as bad as I'd thought." The way the others had made it sound, she should have had a fork jammed into her knuckles. But all she'd gotten was wash duty? She certainly wasn't complaining, but it seemed off compared to what her crew mates had told her.

"Tomato Bitch," The booming voice of Umi returned. "You forgot my clothes." She was hiding behind the door so Maki wouldn't see her in the nude, but she nonetheless tossed her uniform out to be caught by said girl. The door then slammed shut once more.

"Hey, was that Captain Umi nya?" Rin ran over to meet Maki in the middle of the deck, gasping when she saw the pudding marks on the familiar clothing. "O-oh no, you messed up nya, Rin is so sorry..." She reached out, swiping a bit of the leftover sauce. "But so delicious..."

"Rin-chan, why are you tasting Captain Umi's clothes?" A confused Hanayo entered the scene.

"Maki-chan got pudding cake all over Captain Umi!"

"Oh no!" Hanayo began pinching Maki's cheeks and poking along her stomach. "Did she hurt you?! Where did she hurt you?! What was your punishment?!"

Maki quickly brushed Hanayo's grabby hands away. "I'm fine, I'm fine! She only hurt me mentally." She furrowed her brow as she tapped her chin. "Which reminds me, you guys made it sound so bad, but I barely got a slap on the wrist. Was that just to psych me out?"

Hanayo & Rin shared a bewildered look with each other. "A-are you sure about that? She didn't even use her stick?"

Maki shook her head. "No, not even that, even though she seems to love that thing. Is this part of the hazing process or something?"

Rin whispered to Hanayo, who seemed even more confused than before. "Well, it's good that you weren't hurt at least... But did she give you a punishment?"

"Yeah, I have to go wash this with Kotori. Do you know where she is?" Maki was directed to another room of the ship, a small washroom with a laundry mangle that stood about two feet tall.

"Ah, Maki-chan, so good to see you again~." Kotori greeted Maki with a kiss on each cheek. "Did you do well with Captain Umi?"

"Well, that's actually what I'm here about..." Maki shamefully showed the food that was beginning to settle into Umi's apparel.

"Oh no, she didn't give you anything that'll scar, did she?" Kotori concernedly frowned as she took the uniform from Maki.

"No, it was completely unexpected. She just... told me to come wash this with you, and that'd be it." Maki scratched the back of her head. "I still don't see why she'd do that, since it seems she gave you three such harsh punishments."

Kotori hummed thoughtfully as she prepared a barrel full of soapy water. "Could it be?... I mean I guess we'd have to wait and see..."

"Um, is there something you wanna tell me?" Maki snuck up behind Kotori after hearing the girl whisper to herself.

"Oh, it's nothing!" She waved Maki off with a giggle, then placed the clothing into the warm water. "Okay, now I'll do the main washing to make sure it doesn't stain, and you can run it through the mangle and dry it. How does that sound?"

"Well, it's my punishment, so shouldn't I be doing something more?" Maki asked, feeling rather useless at the moment.

"Oh no, it's fine! I like working with clothes, so naturally I'd like cleaning them too." Kotori assured her, beginning to scrub at a particularly deep blackberry stain.

Maki reluctantly agreed, sitting on the short stool behind the mangle. "So, how long have you been working under Captain Umi?" She attempted to start a conversation.

"Ah, I was a seamstress back where I came from, you see." Kotori sighed wistfully, looking as though she were being transported back to the time she was speaking of. "And Umi was this rumored pirate, who was said to be extremely handsome, and a professional thief." She paused in her scrubbing to smile at Maki. "One day, a tall figure pulled me aside and asked if I was happy where I was. I honestly answered that I could use some more excitement in my life, and the rest was history."

"Hmm, I see. So then, were you the first to join Umi's crew?" Clunk! It seemed Maki had asked the wrong question, because Kotori froze up and seemed to be staring at nothing in particular.

"U-um, that topic's for um- another time..." Kotori furiously scrubbed at the last pudding-stained spot, and once fully cleaned, passed it back to Maki. "But I can answer any other questions you'd like me to answer, though if you want more first day stories, you can ask Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan for theirs."

Maki hummed, a bit thrown off by Kotori's avoidance of the first question. Had there been another crew member before her? And if so, what had happened to them? Perhaps they'd done something to piss off Umi enough that she'd banished them from her ship. "All I'm doing is speculating. I'll just try to pry some more information from Hanayo or Rin later." Maki methodically cranked the handle of the mangle, hoping she'd be done with her task soon so she could return the clean threads.

* * *

"There, it's all done~." Kotori handed the freshly cleaned dress shirt over to Maki, completing the pile. "Good as new, so you can take them back to Captain Umi."

Maki nodded in thanks, carrying the now dried clothes in a small crate back to where Umi was likely still waiting. She lightly knocked on the door, and at first received no answer. She cocked her head to the side in confusion, knocking again with a harder force. This time she heard a muffled groan come from inside the room; she immediately rushed inside to see what was the matter.

The sight of Umi literally crawling across the floor to get to her bed was unusual. It didn't help that on top of that, she wore the bare minimum in regards to clothing. "U-ughhh," Umi looked up at the girl standing in the doorway. "Make yourself useful and help me into my bed."

Maki set the crate to the side, bending down to scoop Umi up into her arms. "Are you okay, Captain Umi?"

Umi clung to Maki, attempting to relieve herself of some of the pain. "The red tide is here…"

"The… 'red tide'?" Maki glimpsed a bit of blood trickling down Umi's thigh, catching onto what she'd been referring to. "O-oh, here, let me help you." She gently lay Umi onto her bed, taking a seat at the edge. "Do you need a rag, or are you covered?"

Umi weakly waved at a sheet that appeared to be partially torn. "I got a strip off of that, but I think I need more." Maki nodded in understanding, dashing over to rip a large strip off of the cotton sheet. She folded it over a few times for extra layers, then passed it to Umi. "That should hold off for a couple hours."

"Thank you…" Umi turned away so that Maki couldn't see her stuffing the cloth into her undergarments. "I have another request of you." The blue-haired girl tugged on Maki's shirt. "I would like to… lay against you, please. I'm in quite a bit of pain."

Maki's eyes widened at the amount of vulnerability Umi was allowing her to see. What happened to the hardass from before? "Well, yeah, I can do that…" Maki patted her lap, and her captain came scurrying over to lay her head in the dead center of her thighs.

"Ah, that feels a lot better on my neck." Umi's features softened as she allowed Maki to cradle her head.

Meanwhile, Maki lightly stroked Umi's hair to lull her into a restful sleep. _"Wow, our captain is… quite useless."_ Nonetheless, Maki felt she could get used to this softer, much less harsh version of Umi.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alternate title for this fic;**

 **Umi: "I've recruited a new member for our ship!"**

 **Kotori: "You fucked up a perfectly good gypsy is what you did. Look at her, she's got anxiety."**

* * *

"Land Hoooo! ...Noka." A cheerful girl giggled at the end of her sentence.

"Honoka, are you going to say that _every_ time you scout out land?" Eli, the co-captain of the Garden of Lilies mused from below.

"Well duhhhh, that's the most fun part about my job!" Honoka leaned over the railings to call down to Eli, nearly dropping her telescope in the process.

"Hey now, be careful up there. We can't have any of my precious Lilies getting injured~." The other co-captain, Nozomi, teasingly warned their scout.

Honoka grabbed a nearby rope, swinging down and coming to a gentle thud on the deck. "I'm careful, I'm careful!" She beamed as Nozomi and Eli took turns ruffling her hair.

"About how far away would ya reckon we are from the land?" The purple-haired girl adjusted her eye patch.

"Hmmm, if my spyglass was right, I'd say about a couple weeks." Honoka took said spyglass and tucked it away into her pouch. The three hollered joyfully, which in turn summoned the other three members of the ship.

Tsubasa stumbled forward, occasionally hiccuping and loudly giggling. "E-Erena, sing us a-another song, would ya?"

Erena chuckled uncontrollably, trying to regain her sea legs. "Veeeenus, _charming Venus_ ~," She heavily slurred during her attempt to sound sensual. "H-hey, girls, y'know whaweshoulddo?" The drunk woman continued.

"Huh?" Tsubasa leaned against Eli's back, only to be shoved toward the mast by Nozomi.

"Lean on your _own_ wives, please." She let out a small huff as she wrapped her arm around Eli's waist possessively.

"W-we should gointotheocean, and find mermaid wives!" She started a jog toward the edge of the ship, only to have her sleeve caught by a somewhat less drunk Anju.

"Nooooo, Erenaaaaa! You can't do thaaaat, the mermaids are sleeping right nooow!"

Tsubasa gave up on trying to walk, opting to lay on her stomach and "slither" over to her wives. "I'm nosssure mermaids exist, though…"

"Tsubasa-san…" Honoka observed the girl from a short distance. "What are you doing?"

"Well I figure if I can't walk… then I gotta sliver like a snakey-snake."

"Okaaay, it sounds like it's bed time for you three." The blonde scooped up the three women easily, placing them over her shoulders.

Anju weakly struggled against the strong woman, whining and trying to break free. "We haven't even drunk all the ale yetttt!"

"And it can stay that way until tomorrow, it's not like the feast is going to be over for another day anyway." Eli kicked open the cabin door with her foot, depositing the three onto their plush bed. "You can have more fun tomorrow when you're not trying to throw yourselves off the ship…"

"Hmmm, alright I guessss…" Anju reluctantly agreed, pulling the nearest covers over herself. Tsubasa rolled over to loosely wrap her arms around Erena and Anju.

"Well g'night then guys," Erena sleepily aimed for Tsubasa's and Anju's lips, but missed and kissed their necks instead. "Love ya."

"Love you too~." Tsubasa and Anju chorused back before passing out in each other's arms.

"How… touching." Eli threw a final cover over the top of them, then returning to her wife and friend.

"I don't think you should be the one judging, Elicchi. After all, we've been in toooons of situations like that together~." Nozomi teased with a wink.

Honoka nodded in agreement, uncomfortably fiddling with her fingers. "Yeah, I've been the one to drag you to bed a few times…"

"N-Nozomi, Honoka!" Eli flushed bright red, turning away so nobody would see how embarrassed she'd become.

"Aw c'monnn, I was just teasin'~." Nozomi went to hug Eli from behind, but the blonde turned the tables as she pinned Nozomi against the nearest wall. "H-hey now…" The shorter girl quickly became the one who was flustered as she backed further against the wall.

"What, I thought a little bit of teasing was fine? You said so yourself," Eli smirked confidently as she barred Nozomi in with her strong arms.

"You're bein' awfully cocky…" Nozomi pouted, her heated blush apparent even in the faint light of dusk.

"It's only because you're so cute like this~." Eli chuckled as she felt Nozomi huff and bury her face against her chest. She'd definitely won this round.

"Ummmm," Honoka coughed to get their attention. "Can I maybe sleep? I-it seems like you two are busy anyway, so…"

Eli nodded as she pulled Nozomi to her. "Yeah, you can just put out the anchor and go get some rest, you've earned it."

Honoka grinned and signed off with a salute, running off to drag the large anchor from its storage area. She did her best to ignore the wet smacking noises that were no doubt her captains giving into temptation, and hurled the chained steel into the deep sea. Satisfied, she clapped her hands free of dust before skipping back to the cabin she shared with the three girls who were currently sleeping.

She lightly nudged Tsubasa's shoulder, which eventually woke the young woman.

"Wah, are the mermaids calling?!" Tsubasa sluggishly rubbed her eyes and blinked until she could see clearly.

"No no no, it's just me, Honoka!" The young girl whispered back as she gestured to her side. "Can I join you guys? I'm kinda sleepy now."

Tsubasa nodded with a slight grin, patting the space beside her in spite of the fact that it was currently occupied with a sleeping Anju. "Yoink!" Without warning, she pulled Honoka down who landed on top of Anju with a resounding _Thud!_

"Oof, whyisthemermaidsoheavy?" Anju slurred in her half awake state.

Tsubasa pulled Honoka closer to her, protectively wrapping her arms around her. "Mine!"

Erena, who had been woken up by the commotion, practically threw herself over Tsubasa and Honoka. "Share, you asshole." She struggled to wrap the three girls into an embrace, but wound up haphazardly laying her arms across various body parts.

"How am I s'posedto sleep with your arm in my ribs?" Tsubasa groaned and shoved Erena's arm away, only for it to immediately return to its place.

"Find a way, I'm more comfy like this." Erena stretched and yawned, managing to fall asleep even though Tsubasa was pinching her arm repeatedly. Eventually the girl gave up and dozed off along with Honoka and Anju.

"Hey… Did you hear something?" Eli asked during one of their pauses for breath.

Nozomi hummed as she absentmindedly sucked on Eli's neck until a small bruise formed. "Dunno, maybe it was the others?..."

Eli loosely entangled her fingers in the soft, silk tresses. "I guess next time we should hide the ale."

"Mnn, I suppose, but then we wouldn't get nearly as much alone time~." The shorter girl teased, recapturing her wife's soft lips.

"I-I guess… so." Eli lightly scraped Nozomi's bottom lip with her teeth, then moving her hands down to grip her hips. She pulled Nozomi until she was sitting against her waist. "I just have one more question…"

"Y-yeah?"

"Can you take that fucking eyepatch off? It's so distracting." Eli rolled her eyes when Nozomi looked deeply offended. "Nozomi, you don't even need it!"

Nozomi defensively cupped it with her palm. "But it looks cool!"

The blonde sighed, lifting the patch up slightly so she could look Nozomi in the eye. "I just want to see your pretty eyes; is that such a crime?" Her lips curved into the soft smile that she knew Nozomi couldn't say no to.

"W-well… You're unfair, Elicchi…" Nozomi's face grew warm at the sudden compliments. Slowly, she reached up and pulled away the black leather, tossing it off to the side. "Happy now?"

"Very~." Eli leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, slightly brushing her nose against Nozomi's. She cupped the shy girl's burning cheeks and fully pressed their lips together, contently sighing.

Nozomi parted her lips and let out a small gasp, allowing Eli's tongue to subtly explore. The taller girl slipped her hand up Nozomi's shirt, tracing her short nails along said girl's back. Nozomi in turn trailed her fingers along each of Eli's curves.

"N-Nozomi…" Eli tightly embraced Nozomi, rolling over so that she was on top. Taking advantage of Nozomi's fluster, she kissed right above her collarbone and groped Nozomi's inner thigh.

"W-wait, Elicchi, isn't it a little late?" Nozomi panted and gripped the surrounding blanket.

Eli shrugged without looking up from her work, "Don't care, you're too cute to stop." She tore Nozomi's shirt off, leaving a trail of kisses along her stomach.

"B-But, mmmph…" Nozomi gave no further protest when she felt Eli's lips at her thigh, biting her knuckle to keep from moaning too loudly.

Eli smirked, dragging her tongue just above where Nozomi wanted her to be. "I'm not letting you sleep tonight~."

The pair of lovers wound up spending the majority of their night tangled together under the sheets, their passionate cries echoing throughout their room.

* * *

Eli woke up with a low, pained groan as she rubbed her side in agony. She opened one eye to find that while they were sleeping, their hammock had snapped off its support beams. "I guess we shouldn't have gone so rough…" She slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position, lightly poking Nozomi's cheek to wake up the other girl.

"Mmmph, what happened last night…" Nozomi glanced around in confusion until her eyes landed on her still nude wife.

"We had a little _too_ much fun, and now we're going to have to find a way to fix our hammock." Eli grinned, leaning over and embracing Nozomi. "But that doesn't mean I regret last night~."

Nozomi playfully giggled, turning to meet Eli's lips. "Neither do I~." She moved in for another kiss, but found herself interrupted by a very quiet knocking. She pouted, removing herself from Eli's protective embrace. "Guess we've got a visitor." She left Eli to sulk on the remainder of their hammock, and began pulling on fresh clothing.

"What do the others even want?" Eli huffed, deciding that she should probably get dressed as well.

"Well it can't be Honoka, she'd have just barged in without a warning." Nozomi replied from across the room.

"And it can't be the other three; they've got to be too hungover to even leave their bed right now." The two hummed in thought, finishing off their apparel with their matching captains' hats.

"Well if it ain't Honoka, and it ain't those three drunks, then who is it?" The knocking increased in intensity, until the person on the other side gave up waiting and threw the door open. The bright sunlight outlined a small figure, that of a pale brown-haired girl in a long dress.

"Such a cute girl!" Nozomi and Eli exclaimed simultaneously. They began straightening their jackets out and smoothing out their hair to fix their appearances.

"Um…" She took advantage of their stupor to dash to the ruined hammock ropes and snatch up Nozomi's prized eyepatch. "S-sorry, nothing personal!" Nozomi and Eli didn't process what she'd said, especially when Hanayo reached up to apologetically kiss them each on the cheek. While the two were busy squealing in delight that such an adorable girl had somehow gotten onto their ship, Hanayo made her getaway and began her dangerous speed walk across the plank that Captain Umi had set up between the ships.

They were only snapped back into reality when a panting Honoka was at their door. "H-hey, d-did you see that cute girl? What was she here for?"

"Yeah, I wanted to hug her before she left…" Eli pouted and was comforted by an equally disappointed Nozomi.

"Although, more than a hug woulda been nice…" Eli elbowed Nozomi in the stomach for her shameless comment. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"Hmmm, but do you know why she came in the first place?" Honoka asked.

"Well, she said something about an eyepatch…" Eli mused.

"Wait, did you say eyepatch?" Nozomi reached up to feel that, in fact, her eyepatch was not there. She rushed back to tear through her drawers, still finding the patch nowhere. "That cute little demon stole my eyepatch!" She ignored the protests of her wife and Honoka as she ran for the plank that was still precariously balanced. Before her foot could reach it, a newly awoken Erena grabbed her and held her in place.

"Oh no, that stupid piece of leather isn't worth it, Captain." She tightened her grip on the struggling girl.

"It ain't about the leather, it's about the principle! I stole it first, fair and square!"

" _YOU!_ " Nozomi looked up to see a blue-haired woman in a captain's uniform stomping her way onto her boat, and she did _not_ look happy. "You stole something precious to me; I'm here to retrieve it!"

Nozomi cocked her head to the side, relaxing in Erena's arms. "Something precious? What'd I take exactly?"

Umi grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes to slits. "You don't even _remember_ who I am? You took the eyepatch of somebody I cared for very dearly!"

Maki, who'd just run out to see what all the noise was for, curiously listened to her captain's speech. _"Did Captain Umi… used to have a lover?"_

"Oh, ohhhh, that was you! Yeah that's a neat eyepatch, and I'm gonna have to kindly ask ya to give it back-"

" _ALSO,_ " Umi angrily cut off the girl, jumping aboard and getting up in Nozomi's face. "What the fuck do you think you're doing in my waters? This is _my_ territory, you sleazy thief!"

Erena backed away from the two, leaving Nozomi to nonchalantly shrug. "I don't really think a part of an ocean can belong to any one pirate, y'know? Like, why can't we share the water?"

Umi got as close as she could to Nozomi, quietly growling in annoyance. "Do you wanna fucking try me? If you don't fucking get your sleazy ass ship and your band of thieves out of my area, your ship will never leave again!"

"Ueh, what does that mean? You'll let us stay here?" Honoka entered the scene, oblivious to the seething anger radiating from the unfamiliar woman.

"I'm gonna fucking sink your ship; that's what it means you dumbass!" Umi looked back to her own ship. "Tomato Bitch, my beating stick, _NOW_!" Maki flinched at the loud yelling, scrambling to pick up the splintered stick that now showcased a few fresh bloodstains from a previous beating. "I don't feel you handing me it!" She ran to Umi as fast and as carefully as she could, slightly panting and dropping the stick into her outstretched palm. "Now who's up first?"

"Woah, woah, woah! Who said anything about beating?" Eli forced herself between Umi and her shorter wife, protectively guarding her. "We were unaware that the eyepatch was so… sentimentally valuable to you, and we'd like to leave this a peaceful confrontation!"

Umi jabbed her stick against Eli's stomach, hard enough to leave a bruise. "Fuck off, you weak-willed buffoon! The whole lot of you; you're nothing but a bunch of trash piles!"

Honoka began sniffling, letting a few tears fall to the surface of the deck. "B-but that's what pirates do… They steal!" She rubbed the tears away as they formed, but eventually she couldn't keep up. "I- err, uwaaaaah!" The sobbing girl ran over to be comforted by Tsubasa and Anju.

"Hey, that was pretty fucking awful of you." Tsubasa comfortingly stroked Honoka's back, while Anju set to petting her hair.

"Oh, and now the giant forehead's gonna tell me what I can and can't say? I'm so sowwy I huwt youw pwecious feewings, do you need youw mommy?!"

"These _are_ my moms!" Honoka defiantly called, sticking her tongue out in Umi's direction. "Well, sorta…"

Umi threw her stick to the ground, ripping bits of her own hair out. "What the fuck is wrong with this crew?! Do- do any of you, do any of you?!" Maki ran over to wrap Umi in a tight squeeze, which to the redhead's surprise, had an immediate calming effect. She stopped screaming, and instead held onto Maki as if her life depended on it. "I want to go back to my cabin," Umi quietly mumbled.

Maki nodded, glaring at the rival crew before carrying Umi back to their ship.

"Yeah, y'all better leave! 'Lest you suffer the wrath of my Elicchi!" Nozomi confidently waved to the exiting pair.

"Oh shut the fuck up, tits. I'm surprised the boat hasn't tipped over with those on board." Maki gently pat Umi's back as she continued her march. Nine synchronized gasps were heard, six from the shocked crew of thieves and three from Kotori, Rin, and Hanayo who had been spying the entire time. Rin discreetly gave Maki a double thumbs up, while said girl kicked the plank into the water so the other pirates couldn't retaliate by coming over.

"Hanayo, go make Captain Umi some pudding. We have some cocoa in a jar, so you can make it chocolate-flavored." Hanayo nodded dutifully, hurrying to go start getting her ingredients together. "Kotori and Rin, you can go help her as well, if it's not too much trouble." The two ran after Hanayo, leaving Umi and Maki alone on the deck.

"You're acting very captain-like…" Umi casually alleged. "You know technically they're above you in rank, right?

"I do know, but you looked like you could use something sweet after that ordeal. What exactly was bothering you so much?" Maki felt Umi tense up in her arms.

"I'll explain to you someday." Umi buried her face against Maki's shoulder, mumbling the rest of what she wanted to say. "Take me to my bed now, and I order you to be my pillow."

Maki hummed in approval, stroking her long hair to further soothe the girl. "Alright, Captain Umi. Do you need anything else?"

"No, not really, just… Stay with me for awhile."

Maki faintly blushed at the quiet tone Umi was using with her; it was completely unlike the scolding one she would normally be berated with. _"I wonder if it's okay to be thinking that Captain Umi is so… cute like this."_ It wasn't often that the cold woman showed her vulnerability to anyone; that was something Maki had learned during her time on Poseidon's Dishonor.

Once they'd safely made it into Umi's cabin, Maki gently lay the girl onto her soft mattress. She pulled up the sheets and also lay next to her before throwing the sheets back over them.

"Thank you." Umi exhaled a long, weary breath, most of her pain melting away once she'd gotten beneath the blankets. She laid her head against Maki's chest and curled up against the girl for warmth.

"Y-You're welcome…" Maki winced at the crack in her voice. Being this close to Umi wasn't doing much good for her heart, which had increased its pace tenfold. She tried to keep her excitement from showing too much, but feeling the shorter girl's occasional breath proved to be too much for her.

Umi opened a single eye and glared at Maki. "Could you calm down? I'm trying to nap over here."

Maki turned bright red when she realized that it was her rapid heartbeat that was keeping Umi from her long awaited rest. "O-oh, um, I will!" She gulped, taking deep breaths to slow her heart rate down.

Eventually, she had managed to calm herself down enough to where Umi was softly snoring against her. She looked so peaceful, like she had no more worries on her plate. Maki nearly jumped when Kotori walked into the room holding the a plate with Umi's favorite treat.

Maki's face went even more red when Kotori sent a wink her way before leaving the treat on the captain's desk. The gray-haired girl quietly shut the door so as not to disturb Umi.

"Hey, Captain Umi…" Maki poked the sleeping girl's side. "Your pudding's here."

Umi grumbled, turning away from Maki. "I'll eat it later; I'm not getting up."

"But it's still warm right now."

"I don't give a fuck; go to sleep." She pulled Maki to her, laying her head just beneath the taller girl's chin.

"Fine, whatever."

"Less talking, more sleeping, Maki." Umi grunted, pulling the blanket over her head.

Maki wanted to sleep; she really did, but how was she supposed to sleep when Captain Umi had just referred to her by her _name_ for the first time since she'd gotten there? Her heart was racing so fast she could practically feel it in her throat. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no…" She tried to force the lump down in her throat as realization struck her.

She was in love, and not with just anyone. She was in love with Captain Umi.

* * *

Nozomi stomped across the deck for what must have been the umpteenth time. "She comes onto _my_ ship; she insults _my_ crew… She's going to pay for what she's done. She dunno who she's messin' with!"

Eli cracked her knuckles in anticipation. "I'll teach her a lesson or two for insulting my wife!"

Nozomi placed a hand on Eli's shoulder. "Honey, I love you, but she'd knock your ass out." The blonde felt her pride deflate a bit at Nozomi's blunt honesty. "It's the thought that counts though~. But, we do need a strategy to take their crew down."

Tsubasa pointed at the empty deck across from them. "Look, there's nobody out there right now! We could land a perfect ambush on them!"

Nozomi smacked her fist against her palm. "Then what are we waiting for? Honoka-chan, prepare the plank!"

Honoka saluted, a determined expression plastered on her face. "Aye Aye, Cap'n Nozomi!" She ran over to the shed, but realized that their plank had been unceremoniously thrown into the sea hours ago. "Um, actually Cap'n Nozomi, our only plank is gone…"

Nozomi groaned, but was determined to exact her revenge. "Fine, dive in, girls!" She wasted no time in throwing her hat to the side, and jumping into the icy waters beneath. She held her breath, silently kicking her legs beneath the surface.

She heard the others join her one by one in the distance, their splashes muffled by the water surrounding her. She briefly popped up for air, finding that they'd reached their destination. She signaled for the rest of her crew to follow her to the front of the ship, doing a double take upon discovering the jagged carvings. Nozomi traced the outline of the one before her, swimming off to the side so the others could also get a good look at it.

"Hmmmm… "Sharp bat"; why would they carve _that_ into their boat?" Honoka questioned.

"Actually, I think it says "Shark Bait"." Eli corrected from behind.

"Um, my spiritual power is telling me that there's something bad about that ship… Honoka-chan, go see what's up there."

Honoka gulped nervously, turning back to her crew mates. "D-Do I have to?"

Tsubasa gave Honoka an encouraging pat on the back. "You can do it, Honoka. You just gotta be brave!"

Honoka fumbled to grab the rope she'd had tied to her pants, then hastily threw it over the hull's sharp point. She tied off a knot on the end, and began scaling her way up the unleveled wall.

The rest were left to silently tread water in wait for their companion to return. "So like, on a scale of 1-10, how likely do you think it is that she'll come back alive?" Anju whispered to Erena.

"I'd give it a solid 4, but I'll bet you a couple dubloons on that." Erena quietly spoke in return.

"Would you two quit betting on whether or not Honoka's going to live?! That's just asking for trouble!" Tsubasa scolded the two.

"We were just kidding we'd never bet on our child like that!" The two of them said in unison.

Honoka struggled to pull herself up onto the deck, but once she did the first person she saw was the blue haired captain from earlier. She was sitting quite comfortably on Maki's lap, and slowly indulging in some sort of chocolate pudding cake.

The two of them had not seen honoka, or so she thought. Honoka pulled the rope signaling the others but she froze in her tracks when she felt slim fingers wrap around her waist.

"Well hello~" Kotori whispered gently into her ear, opting to pull honoka closer. "You look like you could use something to drink, the climb must have been tiring no?~"

"U-um!..." Honoka stammered as she tried to make a run for it, but Kotori kept a tight grip on her collar. With a wide grin, Kotori chucked Honoka head-first into the nearest barrel. The intruder's legs flailed helplessly until the barrel was knocked over, spilling the murky water into a large puddle.

"Guys, I think Honoka needs our help!" Tsubasa heard the struggle from above, leaping up to grab hold of the rope. She fought against the slipperiness of the water, shivering as the cold air blasted her skin. "I'm coming, Honky!"

Umi set her fork against her plate with a soft _clink!_ "I believe the rest are coming to her aide. You know what to do." She snapped her fingers at Hanayo and Rin, who immediately ran to help Kotori with any other invaders.

"And what do I do?" Maki inquired.

"You are going to continue to be my cushion while I watch everything unfold." Umi dug back into her cake, turning around to offer her fork to Maki. "Pudding cake?"

"W-wait, why don't I get to do anything useful?" Maki sheepishly accepted the cake, but she refused to sit around and do nothing.

"Because I need you to stay here and be my chair, of course. I don't see why you'd rather be swinging a sword around instead of staying with me and eating pudding cake." Umi stabbed her fork into another soft piece of cake, shoveling it into her own mouth.

"Fair enough…" Maki watched the chaos ensue from behind Umi, occasionally taking a bite of pudding cake.

Tsubasa was the first to jump aboard, taking a wild swing at Kotori. The girl quickly avoided being hit, then sucker punched Tsubasa in the stomach. The green-eyed girl wheezed as she keeled over, unable to get any more punches in.

Soon Erena and Anju hopped over the hull of the ship; Erena went over to help a sputtering Honoka while Anju socked the closest girl to her in the face. That girl just so happened to be Hanayo, who clutched her swollen cheek as a stray tear fell.

"You, you _bitch!_ " Rin gracelessly picked up Anju and threw her back into the water, not caring if it injured the girl or not. "Nobody hurts my Kayo-chin, _nobody!_ "

"So, I wonder how things are going up there?" Meanwhile, Eli and Nozomi were just beginning to climb up the rope. Eli's question was soon answered as a screaming Anju flew past them into the icy depths, almost immediately followed by Erena.

"I'm guessing not very well," Nozomi gritted her teeth as she continued to pull herself up the threading rope. "But I ain't letting this woman think she can get away with anything she wants!"

Eli determinedly nodded, following shortly behind her wife. The two eventually reached the top of the rope, swinging over and landing before the prepared crew. Tsubasa was still tending to Honoka, but Nozomi's gaze was drawn to Captain Umi, who was serenely biting into a soft dessert.

"What the… ya aren't even doing anything; you're just sittin' there!" Nozomi stepped past the remaining crew members, confronting Umi head on. "Make your girls do all the work for ya, huh?"

Umi glowered in Nozomi's direction, standing up and leaning on her walking stick for support. "I don't exactly see you pulling any of the weight for _your_ crew, so I don't see where the fuck you get off talking to me like that."

The purple-haired girl ignored Umi's menacing gaze, opting to side-step her and pay attention to the girl whose lap she'd been sitting in. "Say, you~. How about ya make yourself at home over on the Garden of Lilies~? We certainly wouldn't be calling ya things like 'Tomato Bitch' over there," Nozomi sat down on Maki's lap, allowing a stray finger to trace along her collarbone. Maki flushed bright red, meanwhile a certain blue-haired woman was fuming.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing with _my wife_?" Boomed the captain, who came stomping back over to shove Nozomi away.

"W-wait, wha-" Maki was silenced by the sudden force of Umi's lips against hers. The younger girl didn't register the surrounding gasps, or even the amount of blood rushing to her face. All she could feel was the heavy pounding in her chest and Umi's rough, chapped lips expertly moving against her own. She didn't so much mind the rough feel, even enjoying it since after all this was Umi. _"Oh my God, I'm… I'm kissing Captain Umi. Captain Umi is kissing me; she voluntarily kissed me. What the fuck is going on?"_ Maki's chaotic thoughts came to a close when Umi pulled away with a long breath, a string of saliva still connecting the two. With a smirk, she looked back to see the results of her work.

Tsubasa was covering a curious Honoka's eyes, while Eli and Nozomi's mouths were agape. Kotori meanwhile had a knowing smile on her face, though her girlfriends had turned away for the entire scene.

"Woah… I know Elicchi and I do a bit of shameful things for others to see, but that was somethin' else…"

"I don't care what you and your lesbian wife do on your own time, just get the fuck away from mine and never speak to me again." Umi kept her thighs wrapped around Maki's waist, continuing to stare down the remaining Lilies, before the four of them made a quick getaway by cutting the rope they'd gotten on with and diving back into the water.

"So, was it necessary to get up on that girl like that?" Eli's pointed tone gave away that she was not happy with Nozomi's display from before.

"Elicchi, you know I just do that to recruit the new gays~. Nobody can replace my lovely wife!"

Eli rolled her eyes, nonetheless accepting Nozomi's semi-apology. "Alright, alright; whatever you say."

"H-heeeelp!" A voice called from the distant shore; Nozomi and Eli immediately recognized it as Anju. Erena joined in as well, cupping her hands over her mouth to project her voice.

"Hold on, we're coming!" Tsubasa called in return, taking care to keep Honoka on her back. They hurriedly swam to the beach, dashing to meet up with Erena and Anju.

"Why didn't y'all get back on the ship?!" Nozomi asked.

"We tried to, but we didn't have the rope!" Erena shuddered against the cold breeze. "And now we're freezing to death over here."

"Alright, everybody huddle together for warmth." Eli ordered, which everyone happily obliged to. "Tomorrow we'll get back on our ship, when everybody's all dried."

"But what if they take our ship while we're asleep?" Anju brought up in worry.

"Anju, let's be honest, who the fuck in their right mind would _want_ to take that piece of shit?" Erena assured her, laying her head against Tsubasa's shoulder.

The six girls sighed in relief, but their brief moment of peace was interrupted by Honoka suddenly coughing up a glob of mud. "I think I ate dirt while I was underwater…"

"Honoka, get over here!" Tsubasa enveloped Honoka in a soft cuddle, Anju and Erena joining in gingerly hugging Honoka.

Eli proudly watched the four girls as they gradually fell asleep, leaning over to her wife. "Hey, Nozomi, we should adopt another one."

Nozomi giggled as she rested her head atop Eli's. "But didn't we 'adopt' Honoka just months ago?"

"I don't care, I want another lesbian daughter." Eli loosely intertwined her fingers with Nozomi's.

Nozomi snickered at the woman's insistent tone. "Who says she'll be a lesbian too?"

Eli huffed, moving to lay her head against Nozomi's chest. "Because I said so." The two rambled on about nothing in particular before falling asleep against the rest of their "adopted daughters".

Meanwhile aboard Poseidon's Dishonor, Maki could still feel her heart leaping in her throat as she reached up to touch where Umi's lips had melded with hers.

"Now, don't think this means we're on romance terms," Umi affirmatively expressed to Maki. "I just didn't want that sleaze ball hitting on any of my members."

"I-I knew that!" Maki defensively raised her voice, though a piece of her heart broke off at the realization that Umi had only used her as a trick to be rid of the other pirates. Once Umi had staggered away with her increasingly broken stick, Maki allowed herself to let out a long sigh as she sat down on the wooden floor. _"I should have known better."_ She dejectedly looked to the side to find Captain Umi's half eaten pudding cake, the fork still neatly stuck into the top. "FUCK YOU!" She picked up the small porcelain plate and flung it over the side of the ship.

* * *

Umi had ordered Maki and Kotori to bring out the ale; she normally wouldn't have let her crew have it but today she'd let things slide. The captain rose her mug and everyone's eyes were on her, "For our victory over those sleazy Lilies!"

The room had begun to be filled with happy cheering and singing. However Maki was in the darkest corner drinking what had to be her 3rd cup by now. " _Damnit Maki, why'd you let yourself fall for someone like that...?"_

She should have never let herself get close to Umi, hell, never even snuck on this damn ship at all. Being in prison would have been a much more glorious place.

"Hey, Maki-chan," Hanayo had taken notice of Maki's despairing mood; the fact that she was slightly tipsy caused her to stumble a bit. "A-Are you alright?"

"Fine, I guess…" Maki lazily swirled her ale around in her cup. "Just not really feelin' it, ya know?"

"Aw, wh-what's wrong?" Hanayo took her place beside Maki, slowly sipping a bit more of her apple ale.

"D'ya ever just… think you've got somebody figured out, and then they go and pull a 180 on ya?"

Hanayo hummed as her brows knit into a small frown. "Sorry but I can't really say that I have before."

Maki shrugged in reply. She then downed the rest of her drink in one go, before laying against Hanayo. "I dunno, I guess I just-"

"OI- the fack do ya think yer doin' with Kayo-chin… Nyarrr…" Rin weakly pushed Maki to the side, tightly wrapping her arms around Hanayo. "Come dance with meeeee; leave this sinner behind." Rin shamelessly belched in Maki's face, the strong scent of alcohol causing the girl's nose to wrinkle in disgust.

"Y'know what, you're safe anyway… You guys have fun, I'm goin' to bed." Hanayo grew troubled as she watched Maki take wavering steps away from the celebration, though Rin kept her distracted enough to not go after the red-haired girl.

Maki avoided Umi at all costs, who thankfully was too drunk to even notice that her personal pillow was sneaking away before the small party was over. She tripped past the captain's cabin, making her way to her first official room aboard the ship. Sluggishly, she pulled open the hatch and began making her way down the long stairs before finally reaching the bottom. With a deep sigh that echoed throughout the empty room, she threw herself into the pile of potato sacks that she hadn't had to sleep on in about a week. Trying to ignore the smell of what was most likely mold beginning to grow, she threw a couple of the burlap bags over herself. "Cap'n Umi prolly won't notice me down here… Just like I wanted." Maki slurred, passing out from the large amount of alcohol she'd consumed.

* * *

 **A/N: Heya guys, I hope you're enjoying this fic so far! I'd say we're about to reach its midpoint, and hooo boy are you in for a chapter 4.**

 **Au revoir, mes amies! ~Tuba**


	4. Chapter 4

A couple hours after her unplanned nap, Maki was awoken to the sound of an angry voice. "Hey, what do you think you're doing down here? You're supposed to at least be sleeping in my bed to be my pillow."

Maki buried her face in the potato sacks, pretending not to hear what Umi was saying. She figured that if she faked continuing to sleep, Captain Umi would eventually go away.

"Jesus Christ, remind me not to let you get drunk again." Umi heaved Maki over her shoulder and began bringing her back to her own room. "...Were you laying in _mold_? I'll have Kotori wash your uniform thoroughly." Maki refused to dignify Umi with a response, keeping up her facade of being passed out. "I know you're awake, asshole. I don't know why you're being all moody and silent, but I'll allow it for now." Umi threw open the door to her cabin, finally setting Maki down and heavily breathing from the exertion. "Now, change into some of my clothes and get ready to be my pillow again."

"Why don't you go find a better pillow since I'm just an asshole?" Maki sassed, twirling a strand of hair around a finger.

"Tough luck, tomato fucker. I don't want any of the lumpy pillows we have here, I need something warm to sleep on."

"Why don't you just sleep on Hanayo then? She'd be much softer than I am." Maki cast her shirt to the side after she'd made sure that Umi wasn't watching.

That didn't do much to curb Umi, as the blue-haired girl hugged Maki from behind. "Your skin's smoother, and I need someone taller to be a proper body pillow." Maki felt her skin grow hot under Umi's touch; she shivered once the slightly shorter girl had removed herself. "But get ready and lay down, I'll be back in a minute." Umi tossed a spare collared shirt to Maki, picking up Maki's discarded clothes and hustling toward the laundry area.

Finally alone again, Maki collapsed onto Umi's usual side of the bed, not even bothering to cover herself with the blankets. Just as she'd been trying to get over her love for Umi, her captain had to go and pull a stunt like hugging her while she was half naked. " _God she's so unfair…"_ Maki sighed as she hugged one of the misshapen pillows on the bed close to her. She settled down for a quick rest before Umi's return, closing her eyes and letting her troubles melt away.

She'd managed to get in a nice amount of sleep when she groggily woke up to the faint sound of arguing. "...Maki ...Love her..." She perked up a bit at the sound of her name, but refused to move an inch in case this caused them to switch subjects. She heard Kotori sigh a bit; the girl seemed so disappointed. "Umi-chan, you know how you feel about her, and I've seen the way she looks at you. So why don't you just do what you know you both want?"

Umi slammed her fist against a nearby wall, growling and clenching her teeth. "Kotori, you know damn well why I'm not doing anything about it."

"Umi-chan, you're only hurting yourself by doing this." Kotori's voice grew closer, causing Maki to tense up. "And think of how Maki-chan feels too; do you really want to hurt her like this?"

"I'm keeping myself from getting hurt more in the long run." Umi harshly spat back. "And don't call me 'Umi-chan', I'm your captain, dammit."

"I know you are… Captain Umi, but the sweet Umi I used to know loved being called Umi-chan."

Umi let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Regardless of what you call me; I can't do it." Maki's heart sped up as she felt the bed shift due to Umi's added weight. "I can't have any more attachments. All they do is hurt me."

"Umi-chan… Is this about her?... That was so long ago, you have to get over it at some point-"

"Don't fucking tell me how I'm supposed to deal with this!" Umi jumped up and staggered toward Kotori. "You weren't the one who watched it happen; you weren't the one who tried to help only to realize it was too late, and you certainly aren't the one with _THIS_ ," Umi dug her wooden leg into the ground for emphasis. "As a reminder of what happened for the rest of your miserable life!"

"Fine, if you want to be miserable, then I'm done… I can't say I didn't try." Kotori's voice began to sound far away again as she left the cabin. "But please, Umi-chan, before you go swearing off love and relationships forever… Really think about it. Would she have wanted you to grieve her for the rest of your life? I think you'd be so much better if you just gave Maki-chan a chance to heal you."

"Just shut up and get that laundry done; I don't want to talk about this anymore." Umi slammed the door shut once Kotori was safely out of its way. "Nobody knows what she would have wanted me to do, because she's gone." She sighed, sliding down the wall and placing her head in her hands.

Maki, meanwhile, was processing everything she'd overheard. Had Umi had a past lover? And what had happened to her? However, there was one question that was nagging Maki the most. Did everything that Kotori had been saying mean that Umi actually _did_ have feelings for her? Truth be told, she was rather annoyed with Umi at the revelation. Here she'd been, assured that Umi held no romantic feelings for her whatsoever, but she'd been playing around this whole time.

"Are you awake?" Umi called from her spot, a faint waver in her voice.

Maki felt her annoyance fade temporarily at the sound of Umi's distressed call. "Y-Yeah, I'm awake now." She sat up in bed, looking over to where Umi was. "Are you okay?"

Umi shook her head, her chin placed against the palms of her hands. "I don't know; I just want to sleep and forget everything." She shakily stood up, going over to her desk to blow out the flickering lamp. The room became shrouded in darkness, causing Umi to nearly trip on her way back to the bed. Wordlessly, she curled up next to Maki and pressed her face against her shoulder blades. "Good night."

"Good night, Captain." Maki whispered in return.

"I lo-," Umi started, but cut herself off before she could continue.

"Huh?" Maki turned to face Umi. "What were you going to say?"

"Oh, it was nothing." The girl moved to nuzzle against Maki's neck. "Now rest well; tomorrow's our bathing day."

Maki turned bright red, hiding her face beneath the blanket next to her. "Y-yeah, I will."

* * *

"Yay, bath time nyaaaaa!" Rin threw off her clothing, diving head first into the warm water. She quickly swam back up to the surface, sputtering and whining. "Blehhhh, too salty nya!"

"That's why you don't have your mouth open when you dive in, dipshit." Umi tossed Rin a bar of solid whale fat. "Hurry up with that so Hanayo can have a turn."

Rin contently whistled, the bar gliding along her skin carefully. "I'm hurryin', I'm hurryin'! Besides, Kayo-chin can just jump in with me now! Kayo-chinnn~!"

"O-okay!" Hanayo stripped out of her own set of clothes, opting to use the available ladder rather than jumping in.

"Yayyy~." Rin swam over and hugged Hanayo from behind.

"R-Rin-chan!" Hanayo grew flustered from the close contact. "Y-you can't go doing something like that so suddenly!"

"But I wanted to hug my Kayo-chin!" Rin proceeded in nuzzling Hanayo's cheek. The two of them were interrupted by Kotori yelling, "You can't hog her all to yourself! I get Hanayo-chan next time!"

"Just join nyaow and it won't be a problem," Rin kept her tight grip on her girlfriend, treading to make sure they both stayed afloat.

Kotori pouted in response. "I can't, I've gotta stay up here and help Captain Umi."

Umi yawned and stretched, slightly bored. "Kotori, go fetch Tomato Bitch. She needs to take her turn soon anyway."

"O-Okay, Captain." Kotori ran back to Umi's cabin, slowly cracking the door open. "Maki-chan, it's time to wake up…" She quietly spoke.

"Mnnn, fuck off; my head hurts." Maki groaned, burying herself among the many blankets.

Kotori huffed at Maki's rudeness. She straightened the ribbon to her shirt, fully stepping into the room. "Maki-chaaan~. Won't you pleeeease get up for Kotori~?" The gray-haired girl beamed when she heard Maki scrambling to get out of bed. "Now go outside, Captain Umi requested you."

At the sound of the familiar woman's name, Maki was much less eager to leave the cabin. "I don't really want to see her right now."

Kotori apologetically smiled. "I don't think you really have a choice; now come on Ms. Grumpy." She leaned over to give Maki a kiss on the cheek, which gave Maki more of the energy she needed. "That's more like it; now come with me to the front of the ship. That's where Captain Umi's waiting~." She grabbed Maki's hand, pulling her along to where Captain Umi was impatiently tapping her foot.

"Tomato Bitch, it's about time. I need you to help me out of my clothes." Umi took off her hat, tossing it to the side.

" _Shit."_ Maki gulped heavily when she heard the task she'd been given. Of course she'd be stuck with such an intimate job just hours after she'd overheard the argument between Umi and Kotori. "Um, not to question your authority, Captain Umi, but wouldn't Kotori be more suited for this?"

"Maybe so, but she has herself to clean, so start helping me out of these pants, Tomato Bitch."

Maki grumbled, begrudgingly making her way over to Umi. "Fine, then sit down." Umi eased herself onto an empty crate that she'd brought out in place of a chair. She lifted her legs in order to make it easier for Maki to pull her pants away. Maki found it a bit difficult getting them off over the false leg, but after they were removed she laid them gently next to her.

She gulped as Umi's eyes were staring intensely at her, not even blinking once. "Well? Help me out of my shirt too." Umi held her arms straight at her sides, allowing Maki to undo her buttons. Slowly, each one was unclasped until Umi's moderately sized breasts were revealed. Scars stretched across her abs and sides, some pale and faded while others looked fairly new.

Maki tried to resist staring, but inevitably felt her eyes tracing along Umi's every curve. Sensing her stare, Umi folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs to cover the important parts. "Alright, let's just get in." Umi tore off Maki's clothing, not giving the girl a chance to get prepared.

"H-hey, what's with that all of a sudden?!" Maki squeaked out in surprise.

"You helped me, so I helped you get out of your clothes. Do I not even get a thanks?" Cap ta I'm Umi taunted as she stood up. "Now, bathing time. Kotori, my bar please." She held out her hand, receiving another solid fat bar from Kotori. Nodding in thanks, she wrapped her arms around Maki and gestured to the water. "I need you to carry me in."

Maki heavily gulped as she took Umi into her arms. _"Oh god, she's so soft; somebody please help me!"_ She looked back at Kotori, silently pleading to be saved. Kotori offered no help in return, only sending a wink and a playful wave in her direction. She reached to help Umi remove her false leg, said girl swatting her hand away.

"I can take it off on my own." Umi asserted, attempting to pull off the straps holding the wooden leg in place. "Urgh, I can't reach it." She grumbled, keeping the leg just out of Maki's reach. "I don't care then; I'll just go bathe with it on."

Maki rolled her eyes, setting Umi down on her crate again. "Stop being stubborn and let me help you get it off."

Umi cast her gaze to the side. "Whatever; at least wait until I get into the water."

"But if it gets wet, won't the wood rot faster?" Maki countered.

Umi grit her teeth in annoyance at the girl's persistence. "If it rots away so be it; I honestly couldn't care less."

" _What the hell is her deal!?"_ Maki huffed and went for one of the leather straps. "Come on, Captain Umi, I'll grant you any special favor you want!"

Umi rolled her eyes at the offer. "I'm the captain; I can make you do anything I want already." However, Maki's offer had served its purpose since it had distracted Umi long enough for Maki to undo the straps holding her wooden leg in place.

"There, was that so hard?" Maki smirked, bending down to kiss the top of Umi's intact foot. "Your majest-" She was going to further tease Umi, but the girl had kicked her jaw using the same leg she'd just kissed. She groaned, rubbing the now sore spot.

"Get me into the water already, we're wasting daylight." Umi snapped her fingers impatiently. "We still have sailing to do, you know."

Maki shook her head to get rid of her disoriented state. She then placed Umi over her shoulder, and made her way back down the ladder. Tentatively, she stepped onto the sandy ground. A bit of seaweed brushed up against her leg, startling her momentarily. After the initial shock was gone, she helped Umi comfortably lean against her in the shallow water, which came up to their waists.

Umi turned around after handing Maki the soap. "Here, wash my back and sing me a song."

"H-huh? What song am I supposed to sing?" Maki furrowed her brow at the sudden request.

"I don't know, just pick a damn song!"

Maki inhaled deeply, slowly lowering the bar of soap to Umi's wet skin. "'Smile! If you're sad, love will blow it away..'"

Umi's back muscles tensed up beneath Maki's touch. "Does it really have to be _that_ song?"

Maki grit her teeth, increasing her pressure with each stroke. "My apologies, _Captain Umi_ , what song would you like to hear then?"

Umi shrugged in response. "Don't you know another song?"

Maki inhaled yet again as another song came to mind. "'I thought I knew you better than anyone else, but was it just an illusion? That's right... I'm a fool…'" This song seemed to slightly put Umi at ease, her muscles becoming less tense. Maki lightly passed her fingers over each place she'd cleaned with the soap. Eventually they fell into a comfortable silence, Maki continuing to help her captain. She leaned down to bring the soap to Umi's dismembered leg.

"Don't," Umi moved it away from Maki, defensively cupping the scarred flesh. "I can do it myself. Go bathe by the front of the ship; I'll be fine."

Maki's eyes widened as she slowly retracted her hand. "...Okay, I will." She made sure Umi could stand on her own, then made her way back over to the more shaded side of the shallows.

"You look a little lonely down there~." Kotori spoke down to Maki, dangling her legs over the ladder as she sat on her perch. "Can I join you~?" She waved her own bar of soap as she gave a falsely innocent smile.

"Um, yeah I don't see why not." Maki easily replied, stepping aside so Kotori could go next to her. Kotori quickly stripped away her clothes, carefully stepping down the ladder and lowering herself.

"I can help you wash your back if you need, Maki-chan~." Kotori pressed against Maki, causing said girl to turn bright red.

Meanwhile, Umi harshly glared from a distance. "Don't you think that's a bit excessive, Kotori?" Her lips curved into a large frown at the shameless display of affection.

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about," Kotori put on a mask of innocence. "I'm just _getting along_ with Maki-chan~." Maki stayed frozen in place, dumbly trying to form words that just wouldn't come to her.

"That's some 'getting along' you're doing…" Umi grumbled to herself.

"Look, I'll get along even better with Maki-chan." Kotori spun Maki around until their chests were pressed together, and swooped in for a long kiss. She would occasionally glance over to Umi as she wrapped her arms around Maki's waist, successfully sending the blue-haired woman over the edge.

" _Kotori,_ didn't I tell you _NOT_ to-"

"But Captain Umi," Kotori pouted after she'd pulled away from a flustered Maki. "Attachments are bad, remember? And if those are bad for you, then Maki-chan's free game, isn't she?"

Umi inhaled shakily, fuming as she yelled to Maki. "Get your fucking ass over here and carry me back onto the ship." Maki eagerly nodded, getting away from Kotori's suggestive embrace and coming to Umi's aide. She picked up Umi into a bridal carry, walking past a semi-pouting Kotori to bring Umi back aboard. Seawater puddled on the floorboards as the two each grabbed a towel to dry off. While Maki busied herself with drying her waist, Umi snuck over to roughly grab her rear.

Maki yelped in surprise, jumping forward and turning back to begin scolding whoever had done it. Though when she looked behind, only Umi was sitting nearby, still drying herself off. "D-Did you?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Umi shook off the question immediately. "Help me get my leg back on, then after I get my clothes back on we need to have a _discussion_ in the cabin."

Maki had no idea what the discussion could possibly be about, nonetheless she knelt down to grab Umi's discarded leg. She made sure to finish patting Umi's skin dry before strapping the leather back in place. Umi briefly thanked her as she slowly eased herself up, grabbing hold of her walking stick. "Go on ahead, I'll meet you after I'm dressed."

Maki pulled her uniform back in place with ease, nodding in Umi's direction. "Alright, I'll be going then." She threw the used towel over her shoulders to catch any remaining drops streaming down her hair, re-entering Umi's cabin. After shutting the door behind her, Maki collapsed onto the nearby bed. Not long after she'd begun resting her eyes, the door was slammed open yet again by none other than Captain Umi.

"There are going to be some new ground rules here," She immediately started lecturing. "Number 1, you are not to leave this room without my supervision anymore."

"H-huh?" Maki sat up in disbelief. "Wait, where is that rule coming from all of a sudden-"

"Rule number 2, from now on, everyday; you are not allowed to rest until this room is completely clean."

"But Captain Umi, ...Whatever, fine, I'll do whatever." Maki huffed and began to walk past Umi. "I didn't do anything to deserve this, but whatever makes you-" She was cut off mid-sentence by Umi suddenly trapping her against the wall, her muscular arm placed directly next to Maki's head.

"I didn't get to the final rule yet. You're not Kotori's, you're _my_ pillow to sleep with at night, and I won't allow you to be stolen by my first mate." Umi's hot breath wafted over Maki as she closed in. "That means no flirting with _anybody else_ on this ship, either."

"W-well, but-"

"I'll let today slide, but your ass is staying in this cabin and cleaning while I have Hanayo bring your dinner. I'll be back later; I'm going to sail our ship elsewhere." Umi tugged her hat back in place, grabbing the walking stick and leaving Maki to contemplate her new situation.

Her eyes swept over the darkened room, taking in everything she was supposed to begin cleaning off. "What the fuck was all that about? It wasn't even me who was doing the flirting; it was all Kotori." She kicked a stray twig in front of her. "Come to think of it, why the fuck should Captain Umi even care? She said she didn't want anything to do with me when it came to that shit." The more Maki thought about it, the angrier she became with how fickle her captain really was.

She paced back and forth, grumbling to herself, only stopping to grab an object that happened to be set on Captain Umi's desk. She was about to spite Umi and smash it against the ground, but an inscription in the top caught her attention. The item she'd grabbed turned out to be a scrimshaw, an expertly carved whale tooth, no doubt hunted down by the crew at one point. Poseidon's Dishonor was featured in black ink, part of the painted mast smudged due to years of being handled. Above the ship Maki now called home were four names messily carved in. _"Shark Bait, Captain Sonoda, Birdbrain, Pussy."_ "Wait, I recognize those names. Where have I heard them before?"

It took a moment of jogging her memory before she realized who "Birdbrain" and "Pussy" were. "Wait, Rin and Kotori! Hanayo must not have been a part of the ship yet. But then, who do these other two names belong to?" Maki ran her thumb over the rough lettering, pondering her new discovery. _"Captain Sonoda couldn't be Umi, otherwise why wouldn't she just have us call her by that? And then… who exactly is Shark Bait?"_ She jumped in surprise at the sound of the door creaking open, quickly hiding the scrimshaw behind her back.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Hanayo's outlined figure carrying a copper tray. "S-Sorry, did I interrupt you?" The shy girl shuffled in, closing the door with her foot. "I know Captain Umi said not to bring you anything until dinner, but I thought a little snack wouldn't hurt." She softly grinned as she set the treat on top of the desk.

"Thank you, Hanayo." Maki gratefully smiled in return, peeking over at the crystal bowl set in the center. "What exactly did you bring me?"

"Tangerines!" Hanayo beamed as she picked up one of the small, orange slices and popped it into her mouth. "They're sweet and simple, and I figured I might as well make the snack citrus so you don't get scurvy…" She held the bowl out for Maki to grab from. "Don't be shy, eat up!"

Maki gulped, tentatively stepping in front of Hanayo. She gulped at the sight of her worst enemy in the food realm; there was absolutely nothing she despised more than tangerines. However, since Hanayo had gone to the trouble of preparing a snack just for her at the risk of being punished by Umi, she took a piece of the fruit and winced at the taste as it slid down her throat.

Hanayo set the remainder of the snack down, giggling and kissing Maki on the cheek. "Make sure to take breaks while you're working!" She curtsied, taking her leave yet again. Before she could exit, Maki called out to her.

"W-wait! Actually, I had a question that I was wondering if you could answer." Hanayo stopped in her tracks, looking back to Maki in curiosity.

"Oh? What is it, Maki-chan?" Hanayo went back to Maki's side. "Is something wrong?"

"Well…" Maki held up the scrimshaw she'd been hiding from her at first. "I see there are names carved into this, but I only recognize Kotori's and Rin's. Do you maybe know who Captain Sonoda and Shark Bait are?"

"Where did you hear those names?" A booming voice shouted from the entrance. "Hanayo, what are you doing here? Dinner's not for three hours." Umi marched in as fast as she could, glancing over the two girls quickly.

"O-oh, Maki-chan looked sick, so I gave her-"

"She's Tomato Bitch, Hanayo; she's _Tomato Bitch_. I've already caught you disobeying my orders; do you want me to add another punishment onto the one I'm thinking up for you?"

Hanayo squeaked nervously, shaking her head vigorously. "N-no, Captain Umi!" Her voice raised an octave higher than usual as she began scurrying for the door. "S-sorry Captain Umi…" The sound of Hanayo's panting grew distant as she ran for her shared bedroom.

Once they were alone again, Umi exhaled in annoyance and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can't I leave you alone for one minute without you getting into more trouble?" She looked over to Maki, who clutched something behind her back. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Ummm, nothing…" Maki attempted to back up and replace the item where it had been before Umi could notice, but the woman was too fast for her. After a moment of quiet struggling, Umi snatched the object from Maki's strong grip.

"Oh really, Tomato Bitch? This doesn't look like nothing to me." Umi squinted at the item she'd retrieved. "What the fuck are you doing with this? You trying to swipe my belongings behind my back?"

"Wh-what? Where did that accusation come from all of a sudden? I was just looking at it while I was cleaning." Maki attempted to defend herself.

Umi grew increasingly loud in volume as she got up in Maki's face. "Don't ever say those names again, and don't you dare fucking go through any more of my property." The blue-haired woman protectively held the whale tooth against her chest, her fingertips turning white from how hard she was pressing them against it.

Maki interjected, "But Umi-"

" _Captain_ Umi to you, goddammit!" Umi roared after shoving Maki away from her. "I must have been too lax on you. Maybe I need to get you more acquainted with the beating stick." Umi reached to her side for her stick, pausing at the sight of a terrified Maki. She exhaled wearily, taking her hand away from her belt. "Just, please, don't talk about that. You don't have to clean anymore for today either; do whatever you want." Umi threw herself onto her mattress, making a mental note that she'd need to replace it soon from the misshapen lumps that dug into her back. "But at least stay here until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone."

Maki felt her heart sink in her chest at the break in Umi's voice. She sounded like a frightened child who didn't want their mother to blow out their lamp before bed. Maki pulled herself up from her spot near the tall bookshelves, then went to sit beside Umi. She softly pat Umi's back as she softly hummed until she heard the woman's erratic breathing slow into a soothing rhythm. After making sure that Umi was actually asleep, Maki carefully tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it.

Making sure not to make any noise as she re-closed it, she then searched for one of the other members. A flash of gray hair caught her attention; Kotori had been placed on sailing duty while Umi rested. "Hey, Kotori," She called out to the girl, "Are you able to answer a couple things?"

Kotori turned at the sound of Maki's voice. "Oh, Maki-chan, what is it that you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Captain Sonoda and Shark Bait." Maki watched Kotori visibly freeze as her eyes shot open wide. Kotori mechanically turned back around as she tightly gripped the wheel.

"Th-that's nothing you need to be concerned about; you should just go back to Captain Umi. I heard everything that went on earlier, and I wouldn't want Maki-chan to get into trouble." She shakily told Maki, but the taller girl wasn't having any of it.

"I saw the way Captain Umi reacted to those names, so they have to mean something." She kneeled down until she was looking up at Kotori. "Please, I'll do anything. I just need to know what's so important about them."

Kotori nervously bit her bottom lip, glancing from side to side. "Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to go around talking about it, okay?"

Maki nodded insistently as she stood back up. "Alright, I can do that."

Kotori regained her playful nature after Maki's promise. "You also have to give me a kiss first~. You didn't fully give me one earlier."

Maki turned scarlet at the final condition. _"Second to Umi, I think Kotori's the most dangerous person on this ship."_ "O-okay, if you say so." She quickly gave Kotori a brief peck on the lips, but another crew member wasn't pleased with this situation.

"Nyaaaaa, what do you think you're doing with my Kotori-chan?!" Rin shouted from her spot atop the mast. She quickly scaled the rope she'd tied off, ignoring the built in ladder. "Ow ow, it burns!" She blew on her stinging hands after finishing her descent.

Kotori ran over to make sure her girlfriend was okay. "Rin-chan, do you need any cream for it?" She went to kiss the abrasion, but Rin yanked her hand away.

"D-Don't act all i-innocent nya! Rin just saw Maki-chan make a move on Kotori-chan; what's that all about?!" Rin glared at Maki as she tugged Kotori away from her. "I told you that Kotori-chan and Kayo-chin are not yours, nya!"

Maki defensively waved her hands. "I-I wasn't hitting on her, I swear!"

Rin puffed her cheeks out as she crossed her arms. "That's what ya always say, nya!"

"She really means it," Kotori hugged Rin, placing a kiss on the side of her neck. "Now, Kotori-chan will make it up to you with some sweet lovings later~. Can she have a moment of privacy to talk about important things with Maki-chan?"

Rin tried to stay mad at the both of them, but she failed under Kotori's begging gaze. "F-fine nya… but no funny business!" The short girl motioned that she'd be keeping her eye on Maki as she slowly backed away from them.

Once the cat-like girl was out of earshot, Kotori leaned over to Maki. "Okay, now I can tell you about it. But I hope Captain Umi isn't expecting you back soon, because it's a long story…" She beckoned Maki to come sit down with her while she heavily inhaled and exhaled. "It all started with the commemoration of this ship. You see, the Ocean Shadows didn't always have Umi as our captain."

Kotori paused to glance up at Maki, who encouraged her to continue. "Our first was Captain Sonoda, and she was… Umi-chan's older sister. She started the Ocean Shadows from scratch, taking her little sister as her first member. Not long after is when the found and recruited me, and then eventually came Rin-chan. But Hanayo-chan wasn't around for… the incident."

Maki raised an eyebrow, moving closer to Kotori. _"So, Captain Sonoda is Umi's older sister. Then, does that make Shark Bait… Captain Umi?"_ Maki felt the puzzle pieces clicking in the back of her mind, but she still had questions. "Then, if Captain Umi's nickname was 'Shark Bait', as you've implied, why was she called it in the first place?"

"You see, Umi-chan's fear of sharks was well known back then. Her sister was always one to tease, so…" Kotori sighed as she continued. "What happened certainly didn't help with that fear."

Maki realized that she was referring to the same incident she'd mentioned before. "If you're not uncomfortable with sharing, what exactly is 'the incident'?"

Kotori shakily drew in another breath, her fingers nervously drumming her thighs. "W-well, one day, w-we had just bagged this huge whale, right? And so, we thought a celebration was in order. Everyone was getting drunk and having a good time, but Captain Sonoda had had a little bit too much, even for her… She was in no condition to be strutting around without assistance, but she was never really one to follow rules, even her own. Umi-chan tried to get her to settle down and quit dancing so close to the rails, but..." Kotori dug her nails into her skin as the memories came back to her. "C-Captain Sonoda just started laughing and making fun of Umi-chan. She'd say things like, 'What's the matter, Shark Bait? Ya afraid I'm gonna get eaten?' B-but then…" Kotori sniffled and choked back a sob as she buried her face in her hands. "Sh-she fell over the railings… Her head hit the wood on the way down and started bleeding, and the sharks nearby hadn't eaten in days."

She broke down in more intense sobbing, only calmed by the feeling of Maki's arm wrapping around her shoulder. "I- I'm so sorry, Kotori." The red-haired girl frowned deeply. "I didn't mean to make you remember all this."

"I-it's fine; we would have needed to tell you at some point. And I know it wasn't the sharks' fault, but… Captain Sonoda's death didn't just affect Umi-chan. It affected all of us. Though, Umi-chan really did take it the hardest… She used to be so sweet and truth be told, a bit more shy and reserved. But now that all of her sister's responsibilities are on her, I think she's lost who she used to be." The amber-eyed girl sighed, staring into the darkening sky. "But I also think that you're the one who can bring that old Umi-chan back."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Kotori, she won't even listen to me." Maki stood up to stretch her legs. "How am I supposed to help somebody who clearly doesn't want my help?"

Kotori looked directly into Maki's eyes, affirmatively placing her hands on her shoulders. "Umi-chan may act like she doesn't want, or even that she doesn't need anybody else. But Maki-chan, I've seen the looks she gives you when you don't notice it. She loves you, and even if she isn't ready to admit it, she wants you to love her back. All she needs is a little push." A drop of water caused Kotori to wince as it hit above her eyelid and was immediately followed by a clap of thunder. "Oh no, oh no that's not good… Maki-chan, you've gotta go to Umi-chan _now_!"

Maki detected the urgency in Kotori's voice, though she was unsure what for. "Kotori, what's wrong?"

Kotori gave Maki no warning as she shoved the girl back toward Umi's cabin. "Sh-she hates storms; she can't be alone during them. You've got to get back to her before she wakes up!" Maki stumbled forward as the rain began pouring down over them. A flash of lightning in the distance briefly lit their vision. "Run, Maki-chan, run!"

Maki sprinted as fast as she could to get to Umi, nearly slipping in the process as she threw the door open. In the darkness of the room, she could make out Umi's figure trembling beneath her blanket, her fingers curled tightly around the fabric. She peeked out to see who the intruding person was, allowing a shaky breath of relief when she saw Maki. Another boom of thunder shook the boat; Umi retreated beneath her covers in fear yet again.

"C-Captain Umi," Maki rushed over to the bed after shutting and locking the door in case the wind decided to force it open. "A-are you?" Umi uttered no words as she grabbed Maki and pulled her close, tightly gripping the girl. Maki could feel the woman's tears soaking into her shirt.

Umi's voice cracked as she attempted to explain herself. "I d-don't like storms… All they do is b-bring bad things with them…"

Maki wrapped her arms around Umi in return. She rested her head atop Umi's and comfortingly stroked her back. "What do you mean by that?"

Umi shrank back with a quiet whimper. "I l-lost something very important to me during one of them."

Maki hugged the girl tighter, "What exactly was it?"

Umi shook her head and buried her face against Maki's chest. "Please just hold me." She dragged her lips across Maki's collarbone until she reached her shoulder.

Maki gasped at the feeling of Umi's rough lips. As good as it felt, Maki didn't want Umi to show her affection in this way. She sighed, slightly pushing Umi away from her. "I can't keep doing this… You can't just show me love when you want to avoid whatever it is that's hurting you."

Umi gripped her chest and gaped at Maki. "What the fuck are you trying to say? Are you implying that I'm _using_ you?"

"Oh, I'm not implying it, Umi. I'm _telling you_ that you're using me. You can't tell somebody that you don't want to be with them and then keep toying with their emotions like this." Maki began to tear up. "Did you ever once consider how I felt during all this?"

Umi sucked in a large amount of air. "You don't know shit about what I've been through, and don't even try to accuse me of anything like you do."

Maki stood up over Umi, angrily crossing her arms. "First of all, how am I supposed to know what happened if you don't even fucking trust me enough to tell me? Secondly, I think I actually know quite a bit, _Shark Bait_." The red-haired girl dashed for the door, shielding her tears from sight as she ran out into the pouring rain. She paused at the railings of the ship, finally allowing herself to break down in sobs. She barely registered the sound of Umi cursing and running as fast as she could toward her over the sound of the storm and her own crying.

Umi yanked Maki away from the side of the ship by her ponytail, causing the girl to cry out in pain. Maki rubbed at her hair roots, looking up to see a crying, furious Umi. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her bottom lip quivering from the cold and from the stress put on her. "You fucking… take that back."

Maki shook her head as she ducked out of Umi's grasp. "Why don't you come make me? It's the truth and you know it!"

Umi grit her teeth, her tears becoming mingled with the rain and splashing sea water. "I wasn't talking about that stuff. Don't- don't you ever fucking call me Shark Bait, that was _her_ thing!"

"What's wrong, _Shark Bait_ ; can't handle a little stress? I've been holding up pretty well under all the stress you put on _me_!" Maki stomped toward the bow, gripping onto the helm for support. "I didn't even want to be a part of this godforsaken ship; I just wanted to take my food and be on my way!"

Umi gestured toward the thrashing waters. "Then why don't you fucking leave already? I'm sure the band of drunk lesbians would be more than happy to take your sorry ass away from us!"

Maki screamed back at Umi, "You know what?! Maybe I should! Maybe I should save a step of being recruited and just fucking drown myself now." Maki began pulling off her overcoat and throwing it behind her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Umi demanded to know, already moving forward to keep Maki from making stupid decisions.

"I'm doing just that, fuck you and fuck everybody on this ship!" Maki grabbed the railings and began to heave herself over, but a pair of strong arms pulled her back.

"Stop that right now; you're being an idiot!" Umi carried the struggling girl away from the ledge, earning a sucker punch to the throat. The young woman let go of Maki, wheezing and grasping for her throat.

"And you're being a controlling, manipulative cunt! What do you even do for this ship besides make everybody scared and depressed? I'll bet even Rin would make a better captain!" Maki was about to continue ranting, before Umi marched over and full on punched her in the face. A pale bruise began to form, the slight trickle of blood giving Maki an iron taste in her mouth.

Umi gripped her sore knuckles, ready to punch again if Maki interrupted her. "Now listen up you little bitch; how the fuck do you think I lost this leg?" Umi kicked the thin piece of wood into Maki's shin.

Maki nonchalantly shrugged and attempted to brush the hair that was continuously whipped by the wind away from her face. "How should I know? It's not like you ever tell me anyth-"

"I tried to save her, goddammit." Lightning struck the shore in the distance, followed by another ominous clap of thunder. "I thought I'd be quick enough, that I'd be able to pull her back in if I dove in fast enough. If she had just fucking listened to me that night," Umi screamed at no one in particular. "After she fell in, I panicked and ran in to save her. But by that time, she was unconscious and she stood no chance against the sharks. There was another one there, too, a big ugly one with a terrible underbite that made all his bottom teeth jut out. When I watched the others…" Umi squeezed her eyes shut at the memory. "... _Eat_ her, all I could think was that I had to get away from there. S-so I was flailing with all the strength I had left; I had to get back to the ladder before they got me too. I was almost there; I could see it right in front of me. I reached out for it, but then…"

Umi was shuddering at this point, her shaking hands gripping onto her head to try to block the images from resurfacing. "I felt something grab hold of my leg; there was a lot of pain, but then I felt something get jerked away. And th-then I looked back, and…" She tried to finish her story, but all that came forth was a series of gagging sounds before the poor girl vomited onto her own clothes.

Maki was frozen in place, unsure of how to react. Umi had poured her heart out to her, and now she didn't know what the appropriate response was.

Umi wiped away what was left around the corners of her mouth, glaring up at Maki. "But think whatever you want to think about me. Think that I'm a coward; think that I'm a manipulative bitch, just don't ever call me _Shark Bait_ ever again. Now go to the Lilies like you wanted to; I'm sure they would appreciate another asshole like them." Umi was backing up during the entirety of her brief speech, her body now pressed against the opposite railings. Maki glanced behind her in time to see a tall wave looming over the ship, waiting to come crashing down.

Her eyes widened; she tried to grab Umi's attention as she ran towards her. "Umi, Umi; get away from the railing! The water's gonna-"

Umi growled in frustration. "Don't act all fucking buddy-buddy with me; it's not Umi to you and it never will be. It's Captain Um-" A 40 foot wave came down over the both of them, successfully knocking them over the side of the ship. Maki managed to catch one of the railings on her way down, but her other hand slipped when she tried to catch Umi.

Umi went pale as the feeling of nothing but air slipped between her fingers. She reached out for Maki in spite of growing further and further away from her. "Makiiii, Makiiii!" Her screams pierced the air, her final one becoming muffled by the water as she splashed into it. She immediately began trying to swim back to the surface, but the tide forced her back down each time.

Meanwhile, Maki was hanging by her right hand for dear life, screeching at the top of her lungs to grab somebody's attention. Thankfully, Kotori, Rin, and Hanayo had been there to catch a glimpse of what had happened. "Oh my god, U-Umi-chan's in the water… Rin-chan, go get the lifeboat, go do something, please!" Kotori hurriedly shoved Rin toward the supply closet, scrambling to find where Maki had gone as well. "Oh god, I-I can't find Maki-chan, I think she went under too!" Kotori paced in place and began hyperventilating at the thought of losing her best friend and the girl she'd just been getting close to.

The panic wore on Hanayo as well, who sobbed and curled up on the soaked ground. Rin burst from the supply closet, attempting to soothe her girlfriends. "I-I didn't see a lifeboat in there!" Hanayo and Kotori screeched simultaneously, but cut short when they heard a familiar voice.

"H-help, I'm on the railings!" Maki called as loud as she could; she could feel that all the yelling and screaming was taking a toll on her lungs and throat.

Rin sprinted over to the direction she'd heard Maki's voice come from. "M-Maki-chan, you're alive!" Rin sighed in relief, offering a hand down to Maki. "W-we don't know where Umi-chan is, but grab my hand!"

Maki eyed Rin's outstretched hand, her conscience and her heart catching up to her. _"I could grab Rin's hand; I could let myself be saved now and guarantee that I'll be okay. But… I can't risk not being able to bring Umi back in; what if she gets trapped while they're pulling me up? I've… I've got to save Umi; I've got to save the woman I fell in love with!"_ Maki apologetically looked up at Rin, who shot back a confused glance. "Sorry for this," Maki shut her eyes, letting go of the last thing that kept her from a watery grave. The last thing she heard before being swallowed up by the ocean was Rin's distressed call. Everything seemed much calmer beneath the water. There was no noise other than the occasional sound of water rushing past her ear. But Maki knew she was running out of time, so she began her frantic search for Umi.

It didn't help that she was mostly staring at nothing but deep, unending darkness, but eventually she caught sight of a thrashing figure a few feet beneath her. She began swimming towards her, but a sudden wave tried pulling her away to the surface.

Meanwhile, Umi was having her own issues. She was currently reliving a personal nightmare that she never thought she'd have to deal with again. Staring her dead in the eye... was the shark that had taken her leg. Umi silently screamed at the sight of its distorted, crooked teeth; trying to break free from her kelp prison. The shark grew ever closer, its hideous features growing more defined as it came nearer. She continued wailing without noise, her fingers desperately clawing at the vegetation constricting her thigh.

Finally, the shark was directly in front of her face. Umi prepared to meet the same fate as her older sister, apologizing in her head for not being able to save her and also apologizing for all the things she'd said to Maki. _"I didn't mean them; I know you didn't mean what you said either. We're both idiots, and now I'm going to die for our mistakes. Please don't blame yourself like I did for so many years; take care of the rest of the crew too, they're going to need it. But most importantly… I love you."_ She shut her eyes, waiting to feel the pain shoot through her. However, the pain never came. After Umi figured it was long overdue for the shark to devour her, she opened one eye to survey her surroundings. Looking behind her, she found that the shark, much chubbier than she remembered it being, was continuing on its way past her. _"Oh."_ Now that her greatest fear was swimming away, Umi focused on other pressing matters, like the fact that the water pressure was beginning to crush her lungs. She tried kicking herself free again, but she was much weaker now due to the lack of oxygen.

Just before she passed out, she felt her leg being cut free from the seaweed. She tried to see who had come to her rescue, but her face was buried against a flowing shirt as they swam to get air. Cold rain greeted them upon resurfacing, the both of them gasping and choking in their attempts to breathe. "M-Maki!" Umi finally realized who her savior was upon looking up. "You came back to save me!"

Maki slammed her lips against Umi's, capturing them with a force Umi didn't know the girl was capable of. "Y-you idiot! D-don't ever do something like that again; I thought I was going to lose you!" Maki cupped a stunned Umi's cheeks, forcing the shorter girl to look up at her. "Let's get you back home so we can get you dried o-"

Umi cut the girl off with a kiss of her own, her arms snaking around Maki's waist. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole." She shamefully frowned as she buried her face in the crook of Maki's neck.

Maki sighed, kissing the top of Umi's forehead. "I'm sorry too; I should have been more respectful of your past." The two shared a loving gaze, Umi for once cracking a wide smile that Maki wasn't sure she'd ever seen be meant for her.

"Hey, I think I see them over there!" Maki and Umi looked toward Poseidon's Dishonor, only to see that the Garden of Lilies had made a return. The shout came from Honoka, whose glinting telescope could just barely be seen against the dark clouds.

"Hey, Honoka-chan's right nya! Maki-chan and Umi-chan are alive!" Rin excitedly tapped Kotori on the shoulder, pointing out to sea. The gray-haired girl had been wrapped tightly in a comforting embrace from none other than the Lilies' Nozomi, but she broke away to see what Honoka had discovered.

"Good eye, Honky!" Tsubasa praised, turning back to Erena, Anju and Eli. "Now let's get moving." The group nodded in response, Anju pushing her lifeboat into the water after she and Tsubasa had climbed into it. Erena and Eli soon followed in their own, paddling as fast as they could to get around the Ocean Shadows' ship.

In order to shorten the trip, Maki put Umi onto her back and began swimming toward the lifeboats. By now, the storm had calmed down to a light drizzle, the thunder and lightning completely gone. "Aye, you guys alright?" Anju called once they were just in front of the pair.

"Yeah, we're okay!" Maki called back, swimming up to the side of one of the boats.

"Um, I don't really want to separate you two, but I don't think these boats have the capacity to carry the both of you on one ship…" Eli awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Wait wait, I've got this!" Erena assured with a grin. She then stood up and threw herself into the water.

"Erena, what the fuck?!" Tsubasa scolded her wife. "A storm literally just ended, and you're throwing yourself into water?!"

"But it's for the gay, you heartless old hag!" Erena climbed into the boat behind Anju.

"Ewwwww, you're getting me all wet!" Anju whined at the feeling of sea water soaking into her clothes.

"You weren't so opposed to that last night." Tsubasa turned around and whacked Erena over the head, successfully putting a stop to the girl's jokes.

Umi and Maki for the most part ignored the background noise, Eli awkwardly laughing as she rowed them back to their ship. "Sorry, my ship's full of idiots."

Umi only shrugged as she lay her head against Maki's lap. "Likewise." Maki lovingly pushed Umi's bangs away from her face, the blue-haired woman humming contently at the gentle attention.

Eventually they'd made it back to the connected ladder; Maki still carried Umi on her back, refusing to let her go. As soon as they stepped aboard, they were greeted by hugs and cheek kisses from a sobbing Kotori and Hanayo. Rin hung back as she watched the event unfold, grinning softly while she watched her girlfriends.

Once the two girls had had their fill of being emotional about Maki and Umi's safe return, they wiped away their last stray tears and went back over to Rin.

"Well, we made it back alive." Umi beamed at Maki. "We weren't eaten by any sharks."

Maki softly smiled in return. "We sure didn't." The girl opened her arms for a hug, receiving a bone crushing embrace from Umi at the offer.

Umi buried her chin against Maki's still soaked clothes, not minding the feeling. "You don't still want to go live with the Lilies, right?"

Maki rolled her eyes at the question, placing a gentle kiss against her lips once more. "You idiot, of course I don't. I want to stay with you forever."

From the sidelines, Eli proudly watched the two hug and exchange kisses. "Hey, Nozomi, remember when we were that young?"

Nozomi huffed and pinched Eli's cheek, "Hey we're not that old…" Eli laughed and softly embraced the pouting woman. "I kid, I kid. Now let's go; I'm sure those two are going to want some privacy."

The two of them returned to their own ship with the rest of the Lilies. Soon enough their ship began to sail away in the distance.

"Do ya think they'll come back nya?" Rin asked as the Garden of Lilies disappeared against the horizon.

"I wouldn't worry about them not coming back, Rin. They'll be back soon enough with more antics." Umi was certain that they hadn't heard or seen the last of the Lilies.

Kotori giggled in response with a slight nod. "Probably, but you two are still soaking wet! You need to go dry off below deck; I'll have Hanayo-chan set up the fire pit."

Umi was about to take her first step forward, but Maki had already swept her off her feet to be carried. "You know, I'm not a baby. I can still walk myself." Umi said, though her actions didn't match her words since she was already curling up against Maki.

"Don't act like you don't like the attention," Maki leaned down to press her lips against Umi's exposed throat.

For once it was Umi who was flushed red, an adorable sight that Maki wanted to continue to see more of.

"Fire pit's set up!" A small voice intervened from below. Hanayo smiled and stepped aside for Umi and Maki to come through. The pair of lovers briefly thanked her before making their way down to the blazing fire. There was a spot above the pit for them to hang their clothes while they dried off their bodies, so Maki began stripping once she'd set Umi onto her feet again.

Umi reluctantly began undressing as well, not looking forward to more cold air biting her skin. "You'd better not be ice cold right now, I don't think I can take much more."

Maki rolled her eyes at the comment, sitting on a fleece blanket and throwing the other one over herself. "We were both in the water, drama queen, of course I'm going to be. Just get over here and let me help get your peg leg off."

Umi guarded the soaked wood from Maki, unstrapping it herself. "I'm fine, I don't need any help." Maki pouted a bit that Umi refused to let her help, nonetheless gladly accepting the woman into her arms.

"It's okay to rely on me once in a while, you know?" Maki arranged the blanket over the both of them, absentmindedly kissing the back of Umi's neck. "I want to take care of you too." She felt Umi's cold skin grow hot from embarrassment, earning a soft chuckle as she pulled Umi closer to her. "I love you."

Umi lay her head against Maki's broad shoulder, closing her eyes and softly smiling in content. "I love you too, Maki." The two eventually fell asleep beneath the warm blanket, happy with how things had turned out. Maki was finally beginning to break down the walls that Umi had spent years building up.

 **A/N: The gay pirates are now together! …After an entire chapter of nothing but angst and drama. But anyway, I hope you all are enjoying! Thankfully we're past all the main tension ahah.**


	5. Chapter 5

Nozomi awoke to the sound of splashing nearby, the warm sun beating down against her skin. She rubbed at her eyes, quietly yelping in pain when all she managed to do was rub sand into them.

Eli woke up soon after hearing her wife's cry of pain and went to soothe the irritated spot. "Nozomi, you should be more careful…" They turned to find the rest of their crew, at first unable to spot them. "Wait, is that-?" The blonde pointed to a large pile of what appeared to be nothing but sand and seaweed. However, beneath the large amount of drying kelp and sand mounds, lay Tsubasa, Erena, Anju and Honoka all entangled with each other.

"What are y'all doin'?! That doesn't look comfortable or sanitary at all."

Honoka was the first to be startled awake, the heavy seaweed making it hard for her to sit up. "Wh-wha? Where am I?..."

Anju was the next to wake up; she blinked a few times to get used to the bright sunlight. "O-oh my God, Honoka, there's something in your hair!" Panicked, Honoka reached up and sure enough she felt something wriggling in a knot of her hair.

"A-ahhhhh!" Honoka let out a high pitched screech, causing Tsubasa and Erena to be woken up with a jolt as well.

"Honky what's wrong!?" Tsubasa cradled Honoka closer trying to calm her down.

"There's something weird wiggling in my hair!"

Tsubasa frantically tried to snatch the crab out of Honoka's unkempt hair, Erena quickly aiding the pair as well. Finally, it wound up being Anju who dislodged the shellfish and threw it back into the churning waves. "There there, Honoka-chan, the crab's gone now~." Anju kissed Honoka on the cheek while Tsubasa lovingly stroked the girl's hair and Erena loosely wrapped her arms around Honoka's waist.

Now that the excitement had calmed down, Eli rolled her eyes with a grin and pulled herself out of the sand. "You coming with?" She held out her hand for Nozomi to grab hold of.

The shorter girl beamed in return, tightly gripping Eli's hand and allowing the blonde to hoist her off the ground. "And what exactly do ya have in mind, Elicchi?"

Eli shrugged, then wrapped her arm around Nozomi's shoulder to guide her along the shoreline. "I guess we could walk along the beach until the others are in better condition to swim back over to the ship; how does that sound?"

Nozomi nuzzled Eli's neck contently. "Sounds fine to me~." She clung to her wife's side, slowly leading the girl down the shoreline. Nozomi furrowed her brow at the sound of distant yelling, and the pair sprinted toward the source.

Eli squinted against the bright sunlight and raised her hand to provide a bit of shade. "Hey, Nozomi, can you see anything?"

Nozomi shaded her eyes as well, "Hmmm… Oh hey, it's the crew from last night." She watched as an orange blur landed in the water with a large splash. "And they're naked too!" She smirked in Eli's direction, "Looks like we walked in on bathin' time; should we stay and watch?"

Eli playfully smacked Nozomi's shoulder, "Nozomi, why do you want to spy on a bunch of girls bathing?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Nozomi giggled as Eli rolled her eyes. "C'mon, I saw you eyeing the captain up while we were on the ship; don'tcha wanna see her muscles again?"

Eli shook her head in denial, "I was _not_ eyeing up the captain. Though, I suppose that maid-looking one was pretty cute."

Nozomi nodded in agreement, wrapping an encouraging arm over Eli's back. "Now you're talkin! Now let's go hide behind that rock so they don't start chasin' us." She placed a finger over her lips to hush Eli, who nodded in understanding. Nozomi sat down on a comfortable spot where it wasn't very rocky, and made sure she could still see everything that happened. She patted the sand next to her, but Eli chose to take her lap as a seat instead. "Feelin' possessive now, are we?"

"Oh please, your lap's just more comfortable than the sand." Eli situated herself against Nozomi and made sure to lean her head beneath Nozomi's chin in order for the shorter girl to see properly.

"Sure sure, if you say so~." She stroked Eli's windblown hair, absentmindedly humming. For awhile not much interesting passed; watching blurred figures of naked girls wasn't quite as fun as they'd thought it'd be. "...I thought this would be more interesting." Nozomi pouted as she tangled her fingers within Eli's hair. "Wanna sneak off and do somethin' more fun?" She stroked Eli's side, coaxing the girl to lay back with her.

"Huh? This was your idea in the first place!" Eli said, but there was no force behind her words.

"Yeah, but this is just boring. Unless, could it be that Elicchi's more interested in the captain's muscles? My my, I'll just take my soft hugs over to somebody else then~." Nozomi teased.

"No, wait!" Eli tackled Nozomi and caused the both of them to fall backwards. "I want soft Nozomi hugs!"

Nozomi smirked, leaning up to press their lips together. "You're just too easy to mess with, Elicchi~." Eli would have scolded Nozomi had the girl not rolled them over to where she was pinning the blonde down.

"H-hey now…" Eli unconvincingly muttered, but soon found Nozomi gently taking her bottom lip between her teeth. She gasped softly, allowing Nozomi to explore with her tongue. She wrapped her arms around Nozomi's waist, digging her nails into the girl's hips.

Nozomi responded by biting down into the tender flesh.

"Wait…" Eli pulled away from Nozomi, who pouted intensely.

"Hey, what'cha gettin' away from me for?" Nozomi huffed and poked the younger girl's cheek.

"I hear somebody yelling…" Eli turned and watched as a blurry, blue-haired figure berated the gray-haired girl from the night before.

Nozomi playfully tugged Eli's hair, "That's not important; we're kinda in the middle of somethin' already, y'know…"

Eli still remained dense to Nozomi's intentions. "Yeah, but it really seems like something's going on over there…" The two turned just in time to watch the gray-haired girl take possession of the red-haired girl.

"Hmmm, some kinda love triangle bullshit; now ain't I more interesting than that?"

Eli had no trouble answering that question with a kiss to her forehead, and an even softer kiss to her lips. "Very; so, if you're still in the mood..."

Nozomi wasted no time in planting butterfly kisses along the taller girl's collarbone, and at first, she'd won the attention of Eli. But soon after, Eli was yet again distracted by the distant sounds of arguing. "Y'know what, we'll continue later; I _guess_ we can go see what's goin' on over there, since you're so damn curious."

Eli gulped as she watched Nozomi stand up, dust herself off and annoyedly march away. _"Looks like I really did it this time…"_

"You probably just wanna look at the captain again, anywho. I just ain't muscular enough for your tastes," Nozomi huffed indignantly.

"N-Nozomi, no! It's not like that at all," Eli threw herself at Nozomi's feet. "I'll do anything, please! I love you, and you're really cute, and-"

Nozomi cut her off by pressing her finger against her lips, and smugly winked. "I dunno, Elicchi, I think I'm just too heartbroken~."

Eli shook her head vigorously, clinging to Nozomi's thigh. "I'll um- I'll give you a massage, or anything else you want!"

Nozomi nonchalantly freed herself of Eli, still feigning that she was making her decision. "Hmmmm… I _suppose_ that'll do for now, but I best not catch ya starin' at that captain then~."

"I definitely won't!" Eli pulled herself up and clung tightly to Nozomi.

"Yeesh, you're so spoiled~." Nozomi reached behind to pet the girl's hair and guided her to the edge of the water.

The captain of the Ocean Shadows' figure grew more prominent the further they went into the water, but as promised, Eli averted her eyes and instead focused on the seaweed wrapping around her ankle. The blue-haired woman grumbled under her breath, visibly angered by whatever the three had been arguing about. She huffed and kicked the ground with her bare heel like a child throwing a tantrum.

Nozomi watched curiously, noting that the captain was obviously more bothered by the situation than what she let on, not that she'd been hiding it all that well in the first place. She grew more visibly angered when the gray-haired girl smugly pressed her lips against the taller girl beside her.

"Oh, she went there." Eli raised her eyebrows and Nozomi observed the scene in mild amusement.

"I s'ppose you were right, Elicchi, this _is_ interesting. Ya still gotta give me that massage though," She teased.

"I wouldn't dream of neglecting that," Eli responded with a small grin. "Say, what if we make bets…"

"Huh? Bets?" Nozomi raised an eyebrow. "...On who the red-haired chick'll wind up with? That could be fun, actually," She grinned mischievously. "I'm placin' mine on the one that just kissed her, she's really harnessin' her gay."

Eli shrugged, "That may be so, but the captain's playing the long game. I have a feeling she'll wind up winning."

"Are ya just sayin' that cause she's got nice muscles?"

"Again, it is _not_ because of her muscles! I just think she has a better shot at it," Eli defended. "You know what, if I win this bet, I get to be on top next time."

Nozomi playfully smirked up at Eli. "Sure, _if_ you win, but I think you'll just keep bein' the power bottom that ya are~."

Eli puffed her cheeks out and wrapped her arms around Nozomi. "Hmph, we'll see about that…"

"Ehem~." A voice from behind startled them with its sudden appearance. "If you could be ever so _kind_ and stop spying on us, that'd be really nice. Then I wouldn't have to _punish_ you~." Nozomi and Eli slowly turned to find the gray-haired girl all too cheerily grinning at them. Without dropping her smile even once, she effortlessly snapped a hunk of driftwood in half.

"Say, Nozomi, I think we need to go um, check on how the other girls are doing." Eli stammered as she gently pulled Nozomi in her direction.

 **A/N: Hey folks, Tuba here! I know this looks pretty short, and that's because it's probably going to have more added onto it soon. ^^;; We thank you so much for your patience!**


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